Blue Blue Glass Moon, Under the Crimson Air
by NexAngelus405
Summary: In a world where humans and pseudo-vampires called Methuselah have suffered a bitter feud, a true vampire walks the streets. Rated for violence and gore like any vampire story as well as foul language. Comments are welcome.
1. Prologue

Hello, this is my first time using so please be nice! By the way, my name means Angel of Death in Latin (lit. Violent Death Angel).

Disclaimer: I do not own, Tsukihime nor Trinity Blood. If I did, Trinity Blood wouldn't have a 15-year-old pope nor a female cardinal, and the Tsukihime anime wouldn't have sucked!

The moon shone like a beacon on the city of Ankara of the Methuselah Empire. It was a beautiful night, the kind of night where one would think that nothing could go wrong. The city with its cobblestone streets and Islamic architecture had withstood the horror that was Armageddon, as well as numerous battles of the Terran/Methuselah war. The Methuselah have long been persecuted by humans because of their vampiric nature and superhuman abilities. Because of that, most humans refer to them as vampires, when they are, in fact, humans afflicted with a virus. But little did the world know there was a real vampire lurking about the streets of Ankara. She was from a time before Armageddon. She had purple-hair that was braided into a ponytail and red-eyes that were originally purple when she was still human. A former alchemist from Atlas, Sion Eltnam Atlasia no longer wore her purple (or brown) uniform, instead opting to wear the clothes of the current era. She wore a black dress with a knee-length skirt that and a shawl and hat that was also black. The skirt had a white stripe down the middle. Under the skirt she wore black stockings. She still, however, wore the bracelet that contained her Etherite whip.

She raced through the streets to catch her prey, a Methuselah who was a member of the Floure du Mal. The bastard had killed three Terrans, all members of the clergy. She finally caught up with him and cornered him in an alley. He wore a Victorian-style coat with a cravat. The Methuselah turned to face her when he realized where he had been herded. "That's far enough, Baron Markar. For your, traitorous acts, I must place you under arrest," said Sion. The Baron scoffed at her, "Me? A traitor? Humph! If you're looking for a traitor, look in the mirror! You're a traitor to your own kind for helping these Terrans!" Sion just sighed in frustration. Actually, she didn't consider these Methuselah one of her kind. She just thought of them as just another oddity of nature, like the True Ancestors and the Dead Apostles. Unfortunately, this Methuselah didn't know her true nature. She then retained her composure to speak, "You are a traitor for trying to undermine the authority of the Empress! It is my duty as a citizen of the Empire to arrest you!" This sentence caused the Baron to lose his cool. Suddenly, he lashed out at Sion with his claws extended. _Like a cat_, thought Sion. Sion used her ability to overclock her brain to anticipate his movements and grabbed him by the neck. She then threw him so hard against the wall it left an imprint in it. The Baron looked up in astonishment, "What _are_ you! You threw me as if I was a Terran!" "Someone you don't want to mess with," replied Sion. She then sent her Etherite whip towards the Baron. The whip latched onto the back of his neck to access his central nervous system, allowing her to probe his mind for the answers she wanted. The baron cried out in pain as Sion probed through his mind, the anguish of having your mind raped is a pain that is unmatched by any physical torment. She needed to find out where their base of operations was. She finally found out the location. "Austria," she said. She had to report back to the Empress on her findings.

**Later that night…**

Sion sent a signal to the Empress through a secure channel. She kneeled in front of the holographic image of the Empress. "Your Highness, I have news on the whereabouts of the Floure du Mal." Seth Nightroad listened intently. "What have you found?" said the Empress. Sion said in a cold voice, "They are in Austria, Vatican territory." The Empress showed a look of concern, "Have you found out what they are planning?" Sion replied, "The Baron didn't know what their next plan was, he was only told a date." "And that is?" said the Empress, expecting an answer. "All Saint's Day," said Sion. The Empress sighed with regret. "You do know what this means don't you?" Sion looked to her higness with determination. "I will go to Austria as soon as possible." The Empress showed a look of regret. "I'm sorry, it cannot be helped," said the Empress. She then added, "By the way, you're running low right? I'll have some fresh virgin blood delivered upon your arrival." Sion smiled with gratitude, "Thank you, your Highness." The Grand Empress smiled back, "You're welcome, Sion. Please return safely."


	2. How It All Started

Here is the next chapter! This one is about how Sion met the Empress and became a citizen of the Empire.

Disclaimer: I do not own Tsukihime or Trinity Blood. If I did, Trinity Blood wouldn't have a 15-year-old pope or a female cardinal, and the Tsukihime anime wouldn't have sucked!

Of all the people in the Empire, the Empress was one of the few who knew her true nature and her abilities. After Tatari was killed, Sion had tried to attack Shiki. At the last minute she stopped herself and ran off in shame at what she had become. She never saw Shiki again, and by now he should be dead and buried. She spent most of her life on the run from the Church. They sent executioner after executioner after her and she always managed to escape. She would try to extract the blood from any virgin she came across instead of sucking it from them. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she did. 200 CCs were enough to keep her satisfied for a week anyway. This went on for decades, until Armageddon. Sion was hiding in a remote area, so it was the least affected by the nuclear holocaust that ensued. After it ended, Sion found most of the world a wasteland, which made it more difficult to obtain nourishment. She decided to go to sleep until humanity got back on its feet. She slept for centuries, through the Methuselah/Terran war. When she awoke, the former alchemist wandered the land, gathering information on what had come to pass during her long slumber. She was astonished to learn that there was an entire nation made up of vampires. After much contemplation, she decided to go to the capital of Byzantium to see for herself.

When she arrived there, she was struck with awe at the metropolis that was before her. It reminded her of the academy of Atlas on a much larger scale. She suddenly started feeling nostalgic and wondered what had become of Atlas. Like Shiki Tohno, her friends at the academy where most likely already dead. At least she could count on the likelihood of seeing Satsuki again, since she was a vampire like her. Sion traveled through the streets taking in the sights and sounds. However, the feeling of awe and wonder came to an abrupt end when an imperial official became suspicious of her. "Excuse me, what uniform is that? I've never seen it before. Are you from the Vatican?" said the guard. Sion looked at her clothes and cursed herself for her stupidity. For all that time, since she was awake, Sion had never once thought of changing her clothes. She now realized how much trouble they might cause for her here, since her Atlas uniform had an emblem with a cross. She then tried to think of an excuse, but that ended up becoming another blunder. "I, um, this is a costume. Yeah! It's a costume. It's for Halloween!" said Sion. The guard didn't buy it. "Halloween was last month, missy. You're coming with me for questioning!" He then grabbed Sion's wrist. Sion didn't want to become incarcerated so she decided to try out her vampiric abilities on him. "Wait," she said. The guard turned to face her. "Look deep into my eyes," she said. The guard did just that. Sion stared at his eyes and let her Mystic Eyes of Enchantment do their work. When she was sure he was under her spell, she said, "Release me." The guard complied with a glazed look on his face. Sion then decided to have a little fun with him. She opened her mouth to give the command. "Go throw yourself in the nearest ditch," she said. He then hurried off and did just that. Sion chuckled. Sometimes there were perks to being a Dead Apostle.

After that ordeal, Sion decided to go and get herself a new wardrobe. She didn't want to attract attention to herself. She went to the nearest tailor and bought a dress. She didn't have any of their currency so she gave the tailor the price in a handful of rubies that she had with her. She put on the dress, which was black with a purple hat, and went on her way. Meanwhile, something else was going on at the Imperial Palace.

Seth Nightroad aka Her Imperial Highness sat on her throne listening intently to the guard's testimony. "I was apprehending this girl wearing a strange uniform, when she suddenly asked me to look into her eyes. The next thing I know, I'm in a ditch covered in mud with a crowd staring at me!" The Empress was intrigued. "Was she a Methuselah?" she asked. The guard looked up. "I'm not sure. Her uniform had a cross on it, so I assumed she might be from the Vatican." The Empress frowned. She didn't like the idea of a member of the Vatican military walking through the imperial capital just after they had started an uneasy peace agreement. "Apprehend her at once, but don't be too forceful. Just tell her I would like to meet with her. And another thing," the Empress said. The official looked up, "Yes, your Highness?" Seth smirked, "Don't make eye contact."

Sion spent the day in a hotel with the curtains drawn. Despite the fact that Byzantium had a UV ray shield, it only protected Methuselah since a Dead Apostle's aversion to sunlight was a magical, rather than biological factor. As soon as it was close to nightfall, she left her room to see more of the city. She was wandering through the streets when the guard that she had enchanted caught sight of her. _That's her_, he thought. Sion felt a chill down her spine after the guard had seen her. She turned to face the source of the chill, and was half-surprised to see him. The guard began to speak, "Excuse me, Miss. I'm with the imperial guard, and Her Highness would just like to see you about today's incident. We promise not to cause you any harm. We just want to know your reason for being here." Sion thought for a moment. _Hmm, maybe it would be best to make friends with these people instead of making them enemies. I've had enough of being on the run, _Sion thought. "OK, I'm actually interested in seeing her majesty myself," Sion said. So they went on their way. The guards that were hidden from sight also left, but Sion had already known about them.

Sion walked into the Imperial Chambers with caution. She calculated that there was a 29 percent chance of this meeting being a trap. However, she already formulated an escape plan based on what she saw of the palace's architecture. The guards led Sion to the center of the chamber and told Sion to bow when he told her to. A voice boomed through the room, "Presenting Her Imperial Highness Augusta Vradica!" Sion winced from the intensity of the sound. The fact that the chamber echoed didn't help either. "Bow," the guard ordered Sion. Both him and Sion bowed as the Empress's throne descended. The Empress addressed Sion, "Greetings, young lady. I am Augusta Vradica, Empress of the New Human Empire of the True Race. Would you care to tell me your name?" Sion decided to give her real name, since records of her might have been lost during Armaggedon. "Sion Eltnam Atlasia," she replied. The Empress took a moment to ponder over her name. "Sion Eltnam Atlasia. It's a very pretty name." "I am honored Your Highness," replied Sion. The Empress then continued, "Tell me Sion, what it was that you did to my Imperial guard. I'm very interested in what you have to tell me." _Uh, oh,_ Sion thought. Sion didn't know what these people would do to her if they found out their true nature. She understood that the Methuselah were not the same as Dead Apostles and even though they both drank blood, the nature of her condition was completely different.

Suddenly, an explosion broke the silence. All the guards surrounded the Empress. "Protect her majesty!" they cried. Soon after, a servant entered the chamber in a panic. "Your Highness, it's the Floure du Mal!" _The Flower of Evil_, Sion thought. She didn't like the sound of that. Suddenly, the servant cried out in agony as a blade struck him down. A Methuselah with long black hair entered the room. He wore a yellow turtleneck with a leather jacket and black pants. His blade was extended from his sleeve. The Methuselah spoke, "I am Algernon von Einrich of the Floure du Mal! I will take your head, Empress, so we can be free to rid the world of these filthy Terrans!" The Empress showed a look of sadness, though no one could see it through the veil of her throne's shield. Sion looked on as all this unfolded before her. Half of her wanted to take her leave, while the other half wanted to kick his ass. She took the latter of the two and stepped forward. The Methuselah looked at her with amusement. "Oh? You think you can stop me? We'll see about that!" Suddenly, the Methuselah lashed out at super speed. Sion sent her brain into overdrive and calculated his next move. She then ran forward and punched him in the face. Von Einrich fell on his ass, but that only proved to enrage him. He then lashed out again, and Sion prepared to counter. But then he did something unexpected. He smiled as he pulled out a flash grenade and threw it at Sion, which detonated at her feet. This caught her off guard long enough for the Methuselah to slice her in half. Both of her fell to the ground as she spewed her blood on the floor. The Methuselah smiled and then laughed. "HAHAHAHAHA! Is that all? What a disappointment! Well, I can still have some fun with Her Highness," he then turned to face her. Seth started to become enraged. The guards barricaded themselves in front of the Crusnik. "We will not let you get past us!" The Methuselah laughed, "You think you can take me?! I guess one death wasn't enough! Oh, well. At least you might pose a better challenge." But then suddenly, he noticed the guards' expressions had changed. They had gone from a look of disgust, to a look of shock and horror. At first he thought that the guards were finally intimidated by him and were cowering in fear, but then he noticed that they were actually starring at something behind him. That thing, or person, was Sion. They watched as the two halves of her, as well as her blood, slid across the floor through some unseen force and reattached themselves so she was whole again. She then got up, and stared at the Methuselah with a murderous look on her face. She said in a cold voice, almost hissing, and baring her fangs, "You will pay for that." She then lifted her hand, and a huge whirlwind appeared, spinning towards the would-be assassin.

The Methuselah was lifted through into the air and cried out in horror. For some strange reason, Sion felt elated, and in her state of excitement she cried out the words that the Dead Apostle that sired her was famous for, "Katto, Katto, Katto, Katto, KATTO, KATTO, KATTO, KATTO, KATTOOOOOO!" As she said that, the whirlwind cut the Methuselah into 12 bloody pieces and splattered his blood onto the nearby walls. After it was over, the Methuselah's remains fell to the ground in a pile of blood, guts, and flesh. Sion slumped to the ground. She felt the thirst coming on. After receiving such a serious injury, she needed blood to rejuvenate herself. She quickly took out a bag of transfused virgin blood and emptied the contents into her mouth. After that, she felt satisfied, but then realized her surroundings. The guards had their eyes wide in horror. Sion knew the cat was out of the bag. If only she hadn't been so careless. It didn't look good for Sion until the shield opened on the Empress's throne. Seth Nightroad stepped off of her throne with a look of bewilderment. Sion was also shocked to see that the woman on the throne was, in fact, a little girl. The Empress spoke in a wary tone, "What in the world are you?"

Sion had a long chat with Her Imperial Highness. She explained to her about the Dead Apostles and the True Ancestors, and how she had been asleep for centuries. Seth was amazed that there had been vampires before the arrival of the Methuselah, with powers comparable to a Crusnik, if not greater. But hearing about how she went through all that pain and suffering from almost feeding on Shiki and her life on the run from the Church, she couldn't help but pity the girl. She decided that she would give Sion full citizenship and a noble title. Sion was surprised that the Empress was being so kind to her and even offering her a place in the imperial nobility. "Why? Why are you being so kind to a monster like me?" Sion asked. Seth scowled at her. "You're not a monster! You're just different! Never let that thought enter your head! Besides," the Empress smiled, "I want to be your friend."

The Empress granted her the title of Duchess of Alexandria, since Sion was practically raised in Egypt, which was where the academy of Atlas was located. Sion also made sure to make as much of a contribution to the Empire as she could. She was familiar with most of the advanced technology that the Empire had. She herself was a child prodigy who joined Atlas at the age of 5, and Atlas had technology farther along than the rest of the world at the time. She easily became one of the empire's top programmers of Artificial Intelligence. She also went on to be a valued operative of the Empire's intelligence network. Her ability to hack people's brains with her Etherite whip made it easy to carry out an interrogation. She also wrote a book for the Empress on the Dead Apostles and the True Ancestors, which included a list of the 27 Dead Apostle Ancestors with info and illustrations. Sion had to restrain herself from laughter when Seth said that the illustration of Nrvnsqr (Nero) Chaos gave her nightmares. This went on for three hundred years. Until…

Well, what did you think? I tried to combine elements of Sion Eltnam Atlasia with Sion Tatari. Next chappie will continue with Sion's trip to Austria and her meeting with the rest of the TB crew.


	3. Intestines For Lunch

Okay, this chap is gonna have a really gory scene as well as some minor language, but nothin' that gets bleeped. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Tsukihime or Trinity Blood. If I did, Trinity Blood wouldn't have a 15-year-old pope or a female cardinal, and the Tsukihime anime wouldn't have sucked!**  
**

**Present Day**, **The Vatican, Rome, Italy.**

"So you are sending this operative into Austria?" Cardinal Catherina Sforza addressed the hologram of the Empress. Seth replied through the fabricated image, "Yes, she has discovered that the Foure du Mal is active in that area. We fear that they will be planning an attempt on the Pope's life since they are planning to make their move on All Saint's Day." The female Cardinal slumped into her chair and put a hand to her forehead due to stress. "This isn't good. We were just recovering from an attempt on the Pope's life by the former Baron of Luxor. An incident that we display our deepest gratitude to the Viscountess of Odessa for assisting us in averting," said Catherina. The Duchess of Milan continued, "Luckily I have two AX agents in the vicinity of Austria who can assist your agent. Speaking of which, who is it that you sent?" The Grand Empress smiled, "The Duchess of Alexandria, Sion Eltnam Atlasia."

**Vienna, Austria. Vatican Territory**.

Sion Eltnam Atlasia stepped of the train in Vienna. She carried her luggage, which consisted of a sack and an attaché case, off the train and proceeded to customs. After her papers were checked out, Sion proceeded to the exit. When she stepped out of the station, Sion scanned the area for her Vatican escorts. She spotted a priest and a nun waiting by the road, the priest waving at her. The priest had long, silver hair tied in the back and wore glasses. The nun wore a white habit and had her short, red hair showing through her cap. Sion proceeded towards them to introduce herself. "I am the Duchess of Alexandria, Sion Eltnam Atlasia. Are you the two AX agents that are to assist me in this investigation?" asked Sion. "Yes, I am Father Abel Nightroad, and this is Sister Esther Blanchett," said the priest. "Pleased to meet you," said the nun. After the formalities, the two of them hitched a ride in a taxi to the hotel where they were staying. Sion paid for her own room, while Father Nightroad and Sister Esther shared a room. At first, Sion was puzzled by why a nun and a priest would be sleeping in the same room, but Abel explained that he was short on funds because of his vow of poverty and because he had spent a lot of the money the church had given him on sweets. Sion started to feel a nostalgic feeling of being pissed off at the priest's irresponsibility. A feeling she remembered from hanging around another goofy guy with glasses. However, she quickly retained her composure and proceeded into her room. It was almost dawn, and Sion couldn't move about during the day.

When night had come, Sion went with Father Nightroad and Sister Esther to discuss the particulars of their mission in Vienna. Father Nightroad shared what the Vatican had on the whereabouts of the Floure du Mal. According to informants in Vienna, a group of Methuselah who had affiliations with the Flour du Mal were holed up in an abandoned wine storehouse. When they arrived at the storehouse, Father Nightroad asked Sister Esther to stand guard while he and Sion went to deal with the Flour du Mal. At first, Esther prepared to protest, but then decided to follow Abel's orders. Abel took out his gun, as did Sion, when they got to the entrance. Sion had a Jericho 941, while Abel had a .44 Magnum Colt Anaconda. Both were loaded with silver bullets. Abel became curious of Sion's firearm, since most Methuselah used blades or compact energy weapons. The Viscountess of Odessa, Astharoshe Asran used a spear that fired bolts of plasma. He thought it was strange that Sion was using an archaic weapon like that, but then dismissed it as simply personal preference.

Father Nightroad was about to discuss a plan when Sion kicked the door out of its hinges, sending it flying across the room. The door found its mark on an unsuspecting Methuselah's head, knocking him unconscious. Father Nightroad was flabbergasted. Sion scanned the area, and discovered that there was no one else in the room. She noticed that there was a light coming from underneath a door that leads to where the wine barrels were stored. Before she could take a step, Father Nightroad stepped in front of her. "Wait! Wait! Don't kick that door down! We need to come up with a plan to-!" Father Nightroad's sentence was cut off when Sion walked past him as he was talking. Sion knocked on the door. Father Nightroad started to freak out. He couldn't believe how reckless this girl was being. The door was answered by a bald Methuselah in a trench coat. Sion put the barrel of her Jericho to his head before he could react. The baldy started to plead with her. Sion asked him how many members of the Floure du Mal were hiding in the lower levels. He spilled his guts and told her there were four of them. Sion thanked him and pistol whipped him immediately after. She called out to Father Nightroad to follow her. The priest got up from the corner where he was hiding and reluctantly followed her.

Sion and Abel descended the spiral steps to meet the terrorists. When they got to the bottom, they saw a group of three Methselah huddled together over a map, no doubt planning where they were going to strike on All Saint's Day. Sion saw there were only three instead of four. Either the baldy had lied to her, or the last member was hiding somewhere. However, Sion couldn't locate any possible exits, so she took the former of the latter. Suddenly, one of the Methuselah glanced behind him and noticed Sion and Abel at the staircase. He shouted to his friends, "There he-!" BANG! Sion had shot him in mid sentence. The other Methuselah turned and snarled at her and the priest. "Who the hell are you?!" said one of them. Sion announced her identity and purpose for being here. "I am the Duchess of Alexandria, Sion Eltnam Atlasia! I am here to arrest you for conspiring against the Empress!" The Methuselah scoffed at her. "You can't arrest us here! This is Vatican territory! It's outside your jurisdiction!" he yelled. Sion then pointed at Father Nightroad. "Why do you think I brought this priest with me? He will be the one making the official arrest!" Sion argued. Father Nightroad sighed. _So that's all I'm good for,_ thought Abel. However, something happened that no one had expected. Sion felt a sharp pain in her in the back. Sion staggered forward in pain. Father Nightroad exclaimed, "Sion!"

A Methuselah came up from behind her and stabbed her before anyone else could notice him. He had long curly hair and wore a disco suit and sun glasses like some kind of Yakuza. He laughed and said, "How you like that, bitch. That's a silver blade, and if I'm not mistaken, that's stuff's poisonous!" Sion hunched over and grinned. "Poisonous to a Methuselah that is. However, it will take more than that to kill me." Sion then reached for the blade and pulled it out of her back. As soon as the blade was out, the wound and fabric sealed itself. The Methuselah started freaking out, and so did Father Nightroad. Sion started feeling that urge. The urge to kill. The urge to crush her enemies underfoot. She ran towards the Methuselah with her fingers curled like claws. The Methuselah produced a blade from his arm and lashed at Sion, but she disappeared before blade could make contact. Sion reappeared behind him and as the Methuselah turned, Sion rammed her hands through his stomach and ripped out his intestines. The Methuselah started vomiting blood. Sion then proceeded to strangle the Methuselah with a maniacal grin on her face, a grin worthy of her ancestor and sire Zepia Eltnam Oberon aka Tatari, the Night of Walachia. However, a voice cried out, snapping her out of her berserker rage, "That's enough! Sion! Let go of him! We need him alive!" Sion dropped the Methuselah in horror. She had done it again. She had gone out of control, in front of a member of the Vatican as well. Father Nightroad continued in a serious tone, "We need to take these Methuselah back with us for questioning." The Methuselah who were watching the whole thing started squealing, "We'll go! We'll cooperate! Just keep her away from us!" Abel turned to her and smiled that goofy smile of his, which caused Sion to blush. "Well, at least you managed to make this easier," he said. Sion tried to hide the blush on her face and said, "Y-yeah."

They put the members of the Flour du Mal in an armored truck and had them transported to the nearest police station to be interrogated. Father Abel, Sister Esther, and Sion went back to the hotel. Father Nightroad asked Esther to head back to the room. He explained to her that he had something to talk with her in private. Sister Esther walked away with a humph, and stormed off. Father Nightroad turned to face Sion and said, "Care to tell me who you are, Miss Atlasia?"

A/N: So, what did you think? I felt that Abel had some similarities to Shiki (from the games, not the horrible defective clone that is the Tsukihime anime). They both have goofy smiles that are further exaggerated by their glasses, and they both have berserker states (Abel Crusnik form, Shiki Nanaya). Also, Shiki would often say things that would set Sion off, which Abel has in spades.


	4. Sion Explains It All

Hi to all who have read this far! In this chapter, Sion fills in Abel on her true nature.

Disclaimer: I do not own, Tsukihime nor Trinity Blood. If I did, Trinity Blood wouldn't have a 15-year-old pope nor a female cardinal, and the Tsukihime anime wouldn't have sucked!

Sion began by telling him what she was, "I'm a vampire." Father Nightroad looked at her with confusion. "How can that be? I've never met a Methuselah that could do the things you can." Sion clarified, "I'm not a Methuselah, I'm a vampire. I'm immortal. I drink the blood of virgins. I hate sunlight. I'm the same race of beings that started the whole vampire legend. I'm a Dead Apostle." Father Nightroad cringed, "A… Dead Apostle?" Sion continued, "I am one of two species of vampire, the Dead Apostles and the True Ancestors." "The Vatican might have some long lost records of us in your archives. After all, you used to hunt us," Sion continued. Father Nightroad then leaned forward to ask her another question, "How old are you?" Sion contemplated her answer, "Let's see. I was born in the late 20th century, but I became a vampire at the age of 17. However, I have only been awake for the last 300 years." Abel laughed nervously. _This girl is older than I am,_ thought the 900 year old Crusnik. Sion then asked, "Any more questions?" Abel replied, "How did you become a vampire?" Sion showed a pained expression. Abel noticed and instantly apologized. "I-I'm sorry! If you don't want to talk about it it's okay, I-" Sion cut him off, "No, it's alright, it doesn't really matter anymore." She summoned all her strength to tell the story. "One day, the Church had hired me to assist in the elimination of a vampire known as Tatari or 'Trick of Ghosts'. He was also known as the Night of Walachia." "Walachia? Isn't that where Vlad Dracula reigned?" Father Nightroad inquired. "Yes, in fact, Tatari was the one that started the whole Dracula legend. He had the ability to manifest the fears and rumors that circulate through a single community. Dracula was the first fear that he ever manifested. "Tatari wasn't even a corporeal being. He was more of a phenomenon, which made him impossible to kill, if only we had known that at the time.

"He killed the entire group, except me, and turned me into what I am now." Abel asked Sion, "Where is Tatari now?" "He's dead," Sion replied. "But I thought you said Tatari was unkillable?" "He was, until I got some help," Sion said. "Arcueid Brunestud, a True Ancestor, was able to strip him of his power by causing the Crimson Moon King to appear because Tatari was able to become a phenomenon through a pact with Altrouge Brunstud, Arcueid's half-sister, in which he would remain that way until the return of the Crimson Moon King. "After that, a human named Shiki Tohno dealt the killing blow." Sion winced at the memory of Shiki. How she had nearly drained him of his blood. "You mentioned the True Ancestors before. Who are they?" Sion looked at Abel with an annoyed look on her face. "You are just full of questions, aren't you?" Abel laughed nervously, "Sorry." Sion sighed, "It's alright, and I don't blame you." She then answered his question, "The True Ancestors are the progenitors of the Dead Apostles. Most, but not all, Dead Apostles are the results of when a True Ancestor drinks the blood of a human. Unlike the Dead Apostles, the True Ancestors can walk around in daylight and don't need to feed on blood to survive. It's just an impulse. But we Dead Apostles are nocturnal and need blood to maintain our bodies because our bodies degenerate at an alarming rate. Also, though we don't always have to, but we usually need the blood of virgins since the genetic material is more pure than a deflowered individual. "Also, when we drink blood, our victims don't become Dead Apostles. They become what are known as The Dead. "The Dead have some qualities of a vampire, like fangs and an aversion to sunlight, but they have no free will. They act under the Dead Apostle's control. The only exception is when the victim has a high magic potential, or a high amount of mana stored in their bodies." "I take it that was the case with you?" said Abel. Sion nodded, "Yes. I was an alchemist of Atlas, a branch of the Mage's Association, so I would naturally have such a potential." Sion paused. _That's strange. Why am I telling him all of this?_

Abel asked her, "Are there any more of you Dead Apostles?" Sion looked up and said, "Before Armageddon, there were several, but I don't know if there are any now. If there are, then they are probably keeping a low profile. Most Dead Apostles held a lot of animosity towards humans. They only saw them as food. Though there were exceptions," Sion hoped that at least Satsuki was still alive, she missed her so much. Father Nightroad smiled and said, "Well, I'm glad that I had the pleasure of meeting one of those exceptions." Sion looked up in surprise, "You don't think I'm a monster?" Father Nightroad looked at her, "Now who told you that? I mean, sure you can be scary but that doesn't mean you're a monster." Sion glared at Father Nightroad and said, "What do you mean, 'scary'." Abel started laughing nervously once more.

After a whole day and night came again, Sion went with Father Nightroad to interrogate the would-be terrorists. At first, Abel tried to interrogate them by himself, but the detainees were uncooperative. As soon as Sion walked into the room, however, the three Methuselah (the fourth was receiving medical attention) spilled their guts and begged Sion not to hurt them. They told Abel and Sion that they were being helped by a man who called himself Dietrich von Lohengrin. When Abel heard that name he muttered, "I knew it." After that, he left the room. Sion followed soon after, and asked what was wrong. "Dietrich von Lohengrin, a member of the Rozenkreuz Orden." "The Order of the Rose Cross?" Sion said. "Yes. They claim to be an organization trying to establish a new world order. They are trying to sabotage relations with the Vatican and the Empire." Sion said, "Why are they trying to do that?" "We don't know. What we do know is that they are willing to slaughter millions for their ideals." Sion didn't like this. This was starting to sound like one of those stupid Dan Brown novels. Suddenly, a cry rang out from the interrogation room. Abel and Sion rushed in to find out what was going on. As they opened the door, they saw the prisoners going mad. One was slamming his head into a wall, another was bashing his head into the one way glass, and the last one was foaming at the mouth. "W-what in God's name?" said Abel. Sion and Abel tried to stop them. But by the time they got them pinned down, they were dead.

That night Sion reported back to the Empress. She told Her Imperial Highness about what they had found out, about how the members of the Floure du Mal died, and about how her true nature had been exposed to Father Nightroad. Seth breathed a sigh of relief when she found out that it was her dear brother that had found out. If it had been anyone else, it would have been disastrous. She ordered Sion to keep on the lookout for trouble. If the Orden was willing to kill these men to hide their intentions, then they would be after Sion and Abel as well, since they already knew too much.

A/N: Well, I hope that this chap hasn't been too boring for you. Next Chap, there's a new arrival, but he's not who you might think at first.


	5. A Red Coat and Silver Hair

Alright, I'm going to have a new character appear in this chappie, but he's not who you think. This crossover is only limited to TB and Tsukihime, so read the rest to find out who he really is.

Disclaimer: I do not own, Tsukihime nor Trinity Blood. If I did, Trinity Blood wouldn't have a 15-year-old pope nor a female cardinal, and the Tsukihime anime wouldn't have sucked!

Abel sent Esther to guard the remaining member of the Floure du Mal in their custody. He was in intensive care from Sion disemboweling him and he was so far their only lead on the whereabouts of the Marionettenspieler. Sion and Abel received a tip from an informant of a hangout for Methuselah at a local bar. When they got to the bar, Sion told Abel to wait outside. A priest hanging out in a bar would stick out like a sore thumb and would only attract unwanted attention. When Sion stepped into the bar, she scanned the room for anything out of the ordinary. Sion noticed a few Methuselah huddled together like they had something to hide. She also noticed a peculiar fellow sitting at the counter just staring at his beer. He had silver hair drooping over his eyes, wore a red leather coat that had the left sleeve missing. He wore three belts, two around his waist and one going diagonally over his chest. His exposed left arm was covered in bandages. Both of his hands wore black leather gloves. Next to his seat was a guitar case. _He seems so familiar. Where have I seen him before?_Sion decided to leave him alone and proceed to the Methuselah who were sitting like they were planning something diabolical. When she got there, one of them looked up at her and said, "Whadda ya want?" Sion asked him in a stern voice, "Where can I find the Marrionettespieler?" The Methuselah denied any knowledge of him. "What, you lookin' for a puppeteer for a show or sumthin'? This is the wrong place to ask. Try paying attention to the signs on the houses." Sion wouldn't relent, "I'm not looking for a man that pulls a puppet's strings, but rather a man that pulls the strings of people." The Methuselah got up and grabbed Sion by the collar. "Look, why don't you leave us alone or we'll have to roughen ya up, you little-!" Suddenly, the silver haired man that Sion had noticed earlier had put his hand on the angry Methuselah's shoulder. He said, "Hey man, that's no way to treat a lady." The guy said, "Leave me alone, you stupid leather freak! It's none of your business!" Sion looked at the man. He must have had some kind of death wish, taking on a Methuselah. The Methuselah tried to slug him one in the face, but the silver haired man ducked and punched him in the stomach. The impact sent him sailing across the room and into a nearby jukebox. The other Methuselah got up from their seats, snarling at him. Some of the other bar-goers decided to leave when they saw the fight, others got up to surround the leather clad hero, obviously Methuselah. At that moment, the jukebox started playing a song.

_Bless me with your gift of light,_

_Righteous cause on judgment night._

_Feel the sorrow the light has swallowed,_

_Feel the freedom like no tomorrow._

The silver-haired man started tapping his foot and bouncing his head to the song. "Man, I love this song." He noticed the Methuselah getting ready to attack him, and smiled. "This party's getting' crazy! Let's rock!" At that moment he opened the guitar case and pulled out a huge sword, too unwieldy for a normal human. Sion also noticed that there was steam coming from the hand that was gripping the sword. He also pulled out a gun from his jacket and charged forward and slashed the two Methuselah in front of him. He then jumped up in the air and did a back-flip as another Methuselah lunged at him. He shot the Methuselah in midair and when he landed, slashed two more with his sword.

"Woohoohoohoo!" he said as he was hacking and slashing and shooting Methuselah left and right. He launched one into the air with his sword, sending his bloody corpse flying into the ceiling. He slashed on in half and shot another Methuselah in midair. Another, tried to grab him, but he spun around and slashed him vertically. He then grabbed another Methuselah and threw him against the wall and shot him. There was only one left now, and he bolted for the door. The silver haired man threw his sword at the retreating Methuselah, which pierced his head and pinned him to the wall. He then slowly walked up to retrieve it. Sion was incredulous of the events that just transpired before her. The walked up to her and said, "You all right? Those guys were real lowlifes you know." Sion then decided to inquire about his identity. "Who _are_ you?" The guy smiled, "The name's Enhance, and if I'm not mistaken, you're a Dead Apostle."

Sion's eyes went wide. Enhance, the Knight of Vengeance. Formerly No 18 of the 27 Dead Apostle Ancestors and the only one actively hunting down the remaining members. Sion couldn't believe her eyes. She was face to face with a living legend! He chuckled and said, "I'm not surprised that you've heard of me. The question is who are you?" Sion decided to introduce herself. It was the least she could do to repay him for helping her out. "My name is Sion Eltnam Atlasia, Duchess of Alexandria." Enhance looked at her funny, then burst out laughing. This set Sion off. "What the hell is so funny?!" Suddenly, Abel burst into the bar. "Sion! What's going on?! I heard gunshots!" He then noticed the bodies on the floor. "Is this your handywork?" he asked. Sion glared at him. "No, it's his," indicating Enhance. Enhance smiled, "Friend of yours?" Sion bowed her head and closed her eyes in frustration. "Yes, unfortunately." Abel then asked Sion, "And this is?" Enhance smiled and introduced himself, "Enhance is the name, and killin' vampires is my game."

After Sion finished probing the only surviving Methuselah's mind, Sion and Abel bid farewell to Enhance. Enhance smiled and said, "I don't think this will be our final farewell. I have a feeling that we'll meet again in the near future." He then turned around and went down the street in the opposite direction. Since it was almost dawn, Sion and Abel decided to go back to the hotel. Sister Esther was still at the hospital, guarding their last lead. On the way, Sion told Abel all she knew about Enhance. She explained how Enhance was a Dead Apostle, but half of him was still human. He had killed the old eighteenth Dead Apostle Ancestor and took his place in the Twenty Seven Dead Apostles, but was removed from the list soon after for obvious reasons. His sword was originally the old number eighteen's, which was called Avenger. He also had a Holy Scripture from the Church that took the shape of a gun. Every time he used the gun his vampiric left arm becomes damaged, and when he wields the sword his human right hand suffers. He doesn't have the same powers as a Dead Apostle, but he is still more than an average human. Sion was amazed he survived Armageddon. If a half-breed like Enhance survived, then there might be more of them. That meant that they are still out there and might be scheming something.

A/N: Okay, I did not make this up! Type-Moon really did model Enhance (at least his physical appearance) after Dante from Devil May Cry! If you don't believe me, go look him up on Wikipedia. He's in the article "Vampires (Kinoko Nasu)" which includes a list of the 27 Dead Apostle Ancestors. You can also find an image of him if you enter in _Rita Rozay-En_ on Google Image Search.


	6. Of Snitches And Pupeteers

Disclaimer: I do not own, Tsukihime nor Trinity Blood. If I did, Trinity Blood wouldn't have a 15-year-old pope nor a female cardinal, and the Tsukihime anime wouldn't have sucked!

When Sion and Abel head that the only surviving member of the Floure du Mal that they had in custody had regained consciousness, they rushed to the hospital as quickly as they could. When they got there, Abel asked Esther how long he had been conscious. "He's been conscious for 2 hours now. So far he hasn't been cooperative and," Esther's face changed to a mixture of embarrassment and rage, "he made some very lewd comments about my body! What kind of person says that about a nun! Come on!" Sion and Abel sighed in unison. "That's to be expected from such a low-class Methuselah. But don't worry, I will make sure his interrogation goes by as painfully as possible," Sion reassured Esther. Abel then interjected, "Now don't be too harsh! He's been badly injured and you might aggravate his condition!" Sion considered Father Nightroad's words and then nodded her head in agreement. They proceeded into the hospital room and saw that the Methuselah was already snacking on hospital food and medical blood. But when he saw Sion, his eyes went wide and he knocked over the tray as he tried to scramble out of the hospital bed. "S-stay away from me you freaky, psycho bitch! I'm sorry for what I said to the nun! Just don't hurt me!" Abel tried to calm him. "Relax, she's not going to hut you. That is, if you cooperate." The Methuselah was still frantic, "Of course I'll cooperate! Just keep her away from me!" Abel looked at her and said, "It seems that you succeeded in frightening this one into submission as well. Good job." Sion's left eye twitched while trying to contain her anger. "Thanks a lot." Abel asked what the Floure du Mal was planning. "We are going to unleash a new weapon on Rome at eight o'clock on All Saints Day. We were going to fire the weapon on St Peter's Basilica where the Pope will be presiding over the Mass." Abel asked the Methuselah, "What kind of weapon is it?" The Methuselah replied, "It's a directed energy weapon that uses a concentrated stream of electrons to obliterate the surrounding area with a force equal to that of a thermonuclear bomb." Abel recognized the device, "A Tesla Howitzer." Abel then asked, "Where is the weapon located?" The Methuselah was about to answer when he suddenly started convulsing. Abel tried to restrain him while Sion pressed the nurse call button. A nurse came in a split-second later and called a doctor when she saw what was happening. They quickly got him to the ER and tried to resuscitate him with a defibrillator. After several attempts, they declared him dead. Sion, Abel, and Esther were dejected. Sion thought, _we were so close to finding the weapon. Damn you, Marriontenspieler._

The next night, Abel and Esther bid farewell to Sion. Sion was to return to Byzantium since they had lost their last lead on the Floure du Mal and the Rozenkreuz Orden. Sion said to Abel, "Thank you, Father Nightroad. I'm sorry that I cannot assist you anymore." Abel replied, "It's alright. We will be able to find them thanks to the help you have given us. By the way, I'm surprised that you were able to trust me with all that information you gave me." Sion blushed as she said, "Well, the truth is, you remind me of someone." Abel became curious. "Oh? What part of me reminds you of that someone?" Sion replied, "Your glasses… your smile… and the fact that YOU REALLY GET ON MY NERVES!" Abel recoiled when burst out like that. Sion then turned and as she boarded her train she said to Esther, "I feel sorry for you Sister Esther. He must be quite a handful." Esther then harrumphed and said, "Don't get me started." As Sion's train departed, Abel thought _why is it that every girl I meet from the empire ends up abusing me?_ remembering his experience with the Viscountess of Odessa.

Sion sat by the window of her cabin in the passenger car of the train to Germanicus. She stared blankly out towards the pitch-black scenery, contemplating the events that transpired in Vienna. Of all the things she had seen and heard in her living and undead life, she had never come across anything like the Marionettenspieler's puppetry. There was a type of magic that allowed one to animate and control lifelike dolls, but never living things. The closest thing that she had encountered that was even close was her Etherite, a pseudo-nervous system which she could use to control the actions of those she attached it to.She could even implant it under their skin to control their actions remotely. She really wished they could find out more about the Floure du Mal's plans, as well as the plans of the Rozenkreuz Orden. She was about to drift off into sleep, when she heard a knock at the door. Sion wasn't expecting any visitors and the ticket collector had already gone by her cabin. She cautiously approached the door, one hand behind her back, gripping her Jericho. She opened the door slightly, and peered through the opening. There was no one there. Sion sighed, holstered her gun, and closed the door. _Probably a stupid kid pulling pranks, _she assumed. However, Sion's assumptions proved to be wrong, as a dark figure crashed through the door and lunged at her with an ax. Sion ducked out of the way and rolled to the side, simultaneously pulling out her Jericho and aiming it at the dark figure. Her would-be assassin was of a large stature, wearing a tattered cloak. As it turned to face her, Sion realized that its face was covered by a gasmask with glowing, red lenses. _Oh great. They sent the Wolf Brigade after me_, remembering when she saw _Jin-Roh_ from an abandoned vault of a DVD collector from before Armageddon that she had found by accident.

The behemoth lunged at Sion again with the speed only a Methuselah possessed. This tipped her off as to what race her assailant belonged to. She aimed her gun and planted three rounds in its chest. It staggered backwards and fell on its back, but soon recovered and got back up, to Sion's surprise. _What the hell? Those were silver bullets. Why isn't he writhing in pain?_ Sion decided that the gun wasn't an option anymore and that she should go all out against this freak. She charged forward, grabbed it by the neck, and threw it out the open doorway. She then leaped into the air and landed on his chest, proceeding to squeeze the life out of him by the neck. Sion had strength twenty times that of a normal human, able to bend steel bars with the effort it takes to bend a toothpick. Methuselah only possessed ten times baseline human strength. Human bodies were like tissue paper to her, and the body of a Methuselah wasn't much stronger. Soon the head of her assailant popped off after she had crushed its neck, blood splattering on the floor and a nearby wall. She gazed at her bloody hands and smiled in satisfaction.

Sion proceeded to check on the other cabins to see if there were any other victims of the murderous Methuselah. She opened the first cabin door and gazed at a horrible sight. A family of four, consisting of a married couple and their two children, a brother and sister, had been slaughtered. The mother had been disemboweled, her intestines spilled on the floor. The father had been decapitated, his head lying on the sofa, his tongue hanging out and his eyes rolled back. The brother, who looked no older than 12, had his throat slit lying face down on the floor. His little sister, who looked no older than 10, was leaning against the seat. Her chest had been ripped open, her heart and lungs exposed. Sion was disgusted when she realized that the carnage that lay before her was making her hungry. Both of the siblings' blood was collecting in a puddle between them, and since they were almost guaranteed to be virgins, she was tempted to get on all fours and lick every last drop of blood off the floor. Sion covered her mouth and fell to her knees as she felt her fangs descending after taking in the aroma of their blood. She fought back the urge as best she could. She didn't want to prove the Church right in labeling her a monster by acting like one. She quickly pulled out a blood bag and ripped it open, pouring the blood into her mouth. After satiating herself, Sion proceeded to check the other cabins, but only found more of the same. She became frustrated and proceeded to the dining car.

Sion stepped through the door of the dining car and scanned her surroundings. The place was littered with bodies like they were the new carpeting for this car. Most of them were couples, some of them accompanied by children. She gazed at the bar and saw that even the bartender wasn't spared. He was lying face down on the counter of the bar. His throat had been slit, his blood painting the counter a dark crimson. As Sion was taking all this in, someone swung an ax into her back. As staggered and fell on her hands and knees, the only thought going through her head was _Oh no, not again_. After she regained her senses, she got up and pulled the ax out of her back. The huge gash left in her back sealed itself almost instantly. Sion looked behind her to face her new opponent and saw that it was another of those gasmask-wearing freaks. As soon as she saw it, she heard the sound of two hands clapping slowly, coming from behind it and drawing nearer with each clap. The source of the clapping revealed itself as it stepped into the light. It was a young man with brown hair and androgynous facial features wearing a uniform reminiscent of the Waffen SS uniforms of Nazi Germany. He stopped clapping and spoke to her. "Splendid! Splendid! You certainly are a wonderful specimen, truly unique among the Methuselah." Sion was not flattered in the least by his sick and twisted compliment. "And who might you be?" The young man smiled and said, "Of course, how rude of me. I forgot to introduce myself." He put a hand lightly to his chest and bent forward in a slight bow. "I am Dietrich von Lohengrin of the Rozenkreuz Orden. I am known in the Orden by my codename, Marionettenspieler. However, I already know all about you, Duchess of Alexandria." Sion looked at him skeptically. _This is the puppet master? He looks like a pussy. Well, that's probably why he likes to use people as puppets to do his dirty work instead of actually doing it himself_. The puppet master lifted his hand and pet the figure next to him like one would pet a dog. He then turned to face her and said, "How do you like my Autojaggers? They're my best work yet. Each one is a reanimated Methuselah corpse that moves under my command." Sion's eyes went wide in shock at that last sentence. Not only was he able to control the living, but the dead as well. Now he was petting that reanimated corpse like his own personal pet. She knew this guy was a sick and twisted bastard and started to look at him with disgust. Dietrich found Sion's reaction amusing and started to chuckle to himself and said, "Oh? Do you find my creations appalling? Well, that's typical for most of the people that I have shared information this with. It's too bad you can't appreciate such a fine art." He then snapped his fingers and pointed to her.

The Autojagger responded by charging towards her at full speed. Sion leaped into the air and wrapped her legs around the head of the reanimated corpse. If he wasn't a dead body under Dietrich's control, then he would have found the sight of Sion's pure white panties arousing. She then tossed the abominable creation on its face and landed on its back. She put a foot to its head, crushing its skull, splattering blood, bone, and brain matter onto the carpet. She turned to face her next victim, the Marionettenspieler, but realized he had fled.

Sion ran through each car, searching for him so she could split his body apart like a toothpick. After searching every car, she figured that he must have gone on the roof. She went to the nearest gap in the cars and leapt up to the top of one. Sure enough, there was Dietrich. Between him and Sion were a horde of his monstrous creations. Dietrich smiled. "Glad you could join us. I was just thinking of how I would have them kill you. Would you prefer quick and painless or slow and painful? Either way, it all depends on how you deal with them." Sion curled her fingers and charged forward, slaughtering Autojaggers left and right. Some of them she decapitated. Some she tore limb from limb. One thing's for sure, she wouldn't allow one of them to get back up again. One Autojagger snuck up behind her and was about to ax her in the back, when someone did a flying kick to its head. Sion turned behind her to find out who the new arrival was and was shocked to see the face from the past, a face that she had longed to see again.

There before her, was Satsuki Yumiduka. Satsuki had changed a little since Sion had last seen her. She still put her hair up so that it would hang from both sides of her head, but she had done a complete makeover with her wardrobe. Instead of her school uniform, she wore a black tube top that showed some cleavage and a matching skirt. Over it, she wore a black leather jacket. The outfit was complimented by a pair of matching leather boots. It was a little risqué for Satsuki. A little more… sexy. Satsuki turned to see whom she had saved, and was equally surprised to see that it was Sion. As soon as she saw her, she got excited and glomped Sion. Despite the fact that Satsuki was squeezing the life out of her with her embrace, Sion managed to get a few words out. "Satsuki… now… is not… the time!" Satsuki pulled away upon realizing that Sion was correct. "Oh, you're right! We still gotta kill these guys!" The puppeteer simply sneered at them and said, "How quaint, a heartwarming reunion between friends. Why don't you just die before you make me sick!" He snapped his fingers and motioned two of his Autojaggers to attack them.

They ran at full speed, lunging at Satsuki. Her face darkened as she lowered her face. She then looked up, one red eye showing, and smiled a maniacal grin. She curled her fingers into claws and slashed at one of the Autojaggers, turning him into five bloody pieces of meat. She grabbed the neck of the other and squeezed his neck until she crushed it and its head popped off. She threw the lifeless, already-a-corpse corpse away and turned to face Dietrich. The young puppeteer let his anger show and said, "It seems I underestimated you two. But no matter, I'll deal with you eventually. Until next time!" He then jumped into the arms of his last remaining Autojagger, who carried Dietrich off the train and onto a passing tree. Satsuki sighed from relief and turned to face Sion. She was speechless. All this time, Sion had hoped that she would be reunited with one of her friends from her past. Now here was Satsuki, in the undead flesh.

A/N: So what did you think? I realized that my previous chapters didn't have the original amount of gore I was aiming for, so I added more detail and flavor to the description of the victims. I recently have had some writer's block so I hope that you can help me come up with some ideas on where to go from here. Reviews are welcome.


	7. Blood Lust, The Many Different Kinds

Hi all! I've run into a lot of trouble right now. I just bought and read the Trinity Blood novel and found out that I got the territories wrong. I also found out that Methuselah are actually ten times stronger than a human instead of three times like I originally thought. This means that I will have to do some minor editing in some parts of my previous chapters. Before I was relying on Wikipedia. From now on, I will try to make the locations in my fanfic more accurate unless it conflicts with what I wrote earlier. I have only got one review so far. Though I am grateful for your comment, dlight, I wish more people would submit reviews. I really want to know what you all think of it, so don't be shy and not submit a review.

Disclaimer: I do not own, Tsukihime nor Trinity Blood. If I did, Trinity Blood wouldn't have a 15-year-old pope nor a female cardinal, and the Tsukihime anime wouldn't have sucked!

After Sion and Satsuki got over seeing each other after being away for so long, both of them went to the locomotive of the train. They found the same amount of carnage as Sion had found in the other cars. The engineer had his skull split open, brain matter spilled on the controls. The conductor had his right arm torn of, the bone exposed at the stump where his arm used to be attached, and his heart had been torn out. Sion was able to smell something strange in the conductor's blood. Something she didn't encounter very often.

The conductor, who looked around forty, was a virgin. When she smelled the virgin blood of the conductor's corpse, she once again had the overwhelming urge to drink every last drop of his blood. Sion covered her mouth as she felt her fangs descend once more. She needed blood since she had just recently been axed in the back and she didn't have any blood bags left on her. Satsuki noticed this and reassured Sion, "It's okay. He's already dead. He won't mind it if you take his blood now." Although the truth was that Satsuki was also feeling a little hungry and wanted to enjoy a meal with her. Sion listened to Satsuki's words and finally gave into the thirst. She bent down and got on all fours. She stuck out her tongue and licked the blood off the floor. She followed the trail of blood to the body of the conductor and started licking the body clean. Satsuki joined in, kneeling next to Sion, licking the blood off of other parts of the conductor's body. After the body had been licked clean, Satsuki noticed that Sion had some blood dripping from her mouth down her chin. Sion hadn't noticed it, so Satsuki surprised her by cleaning it off with her tongue. Sion jumped back from experiencing such a high level of intimacy for the first time. Satsuki just giggled and said, "Sorry if I startled you, but there was blood on your chin." Sion said, "You could have given me a napkin." Satsuki smiled playfully and said, "Well, that would have been a waste if it had become a stain on a piece of paper cloth." Sion turned to hide the embarrassment on her face. To be honest though, she sort of enjoyed feeling Satsuki's tongue along her skin. Sion shook her head to clear her thoughts. They had to find a town where they could have the train stop, since it wouldn't be long until dawn and they couldn't continue all the way to Uber Berlin.

They decided to stop in an abandoned town in the country. It was a ghost town with crumbling buildings and smashed windows. Sion looked at a sign that read, "Willkommen in Waldenberg." Welcome to Waldenberg. Not a single sound was heard, save for the eerie howling of the wind. The two Dead Apostles weren't afraid, however. After all, what was scarier than them? Sion and Satsuki found an inn to stay at. Satsuki made a joke by ringing the bell and asking for room service. Sion just sighed. "Let's go," she said. They both went up to find a room. They managed to find one that had been left mostly intact except for a broken window and a messed up cabinet. The important aspect of the room was the bed, which had been spared the abuse of time. It was a little dusty, but it would do. Unlike popular myth, Dead Apostles didn't necessarily sleep in coffins. Some would sleep in a crypt because they felt they would be left alone that way, but most of them slept in beds or a stone slab in some cases. There was only one bed, so they had to share. After boarding up the windows to keep out the sun, Sion and Satsuki both prepared for bed, both undoing their hair to let it flow down so as to prevent it from knotting while they slept and changing into their nightgowns. Sion wore a black silk nightgown while Satsuki wore pink pajamas. They both got into the bed and blew out the candles. While they were lying side by side, Sion decided to take the opportunity to catch up with Satsuki. "So how long have you been awake?" said Sion. Satsuki said, "The last fifty years." Sion chuckled and said, "I've been awake longer than you have." Satsuki turned over and said, "How long have _you_ been awake, Sion-san?" Sion replied, "The last three hundred years, and you don't have to add an honorific to my name." Satsuki then said, "Okay… Sion." Satsuki explained that she was sealed away by Ciel in a casket that had been locked with a restraining spell that could only be opened from the outside. Only recently had she been released by accident, when a janitor at the church she was sealed away in knocked over the casket and let Satsuki out of her cage. Satsuki then wandered the land, but was unable to understand a word anyone was saying wherever she went. She could barely speak English, let alone any other European languages. Sion had just noticed now that they had been speaking entirely in Japanese since she had met up with Satsuki. The language barrier didn't affect Sion that much since she had learned several European languages while she was at Atlas. Her work as an alchemist required her to travel all around the world. Satsuki asked Sion what the world was like now since she had been awake. Sion said, "Well, while you were asleep, there was a full-scale nuclear war that nearly wiped out humanity. Most of the world has become uninhabitable, except for western Europe and some parts of eastern Europe and the Middle East." Sion paused for a minute, which caused Satsuki to ask her, "What's wrong, Sion?" Sion then looked away and said, "I'm sorry Satsuki. Japan was also wiped out. You're the last of the Japanese." Just then, Satsuki started to cry. She was now the last of the Japanese, and she wasn't even human anymore. Sion wanted to try to comfort Satsuki, but she couldn't think of anything to say without lying to her. All she could say was, "I'm sorry."

After some crying and wiping of eyes with the blanket, Satsuki asked her if there was anything else that had happened. Sion looked at her and said, "Oh yeah, there's now an entire nation made up of a vampire-like race called Methuselah. They were at war with the Vatican up until a few hundred years ago." Satsuki said, "Really? What are they like?" Sion smiled, "They're nothing at all like Dead Apostles." Sion explained the difference between them and the Methuselah to Satsuki as well as how she came to live among them as a citizen of the Empire. She told her about the kindness of the Empress, and how she had been generous to give her a noble title. Satsuki started pouting and said, "Uwa! You're so lucky Sion! All I got was a cardboard box and a bunch of rocks pelted at me!" Sion chuckled and said, "Isn't it sad, Sacchin?" Sion would soon regret her words when she saw Satsuki grab her pillow and looked at her with an evil look in her eyes. She raised the pillow and started whacking Sion with it. Sion returned in kind with her own pillow whacking and soon it was an all out pillow fight. After they got tired of pummeling each other to death with pillows, they fell onto the mattress, exhausted. Sion said, "You know, we'll have to do something about you're language problem. I'll have to teach you the various European languages." Satsuki cried in protest, "But then I might forget how to speak Japanese and then even more of my culture will be lost!" Sion reassured her, "Well, then how about this? After you've managed to master the European languages, we'll speak Japanese when we're alone, okay?" Satsuki sighed and said, "Okay, Sion." Sion smiled mischievously. "You mean, Sion-_sensei_," she corrected. Satsuki narrowed her eyes and said, "I thought you said that I didn't have to include an honorific with your name?" Sion replied, "This is different. Why don't you try this for starters? Guten Nacht ." Satsuki tried hard to think of what Sion just said to her and, after a while, she came to a conclusion and said, "Hairu Hitlaa? (Heil Hitler)" Sion paused for a minute, sighed, and said, "This is going to be a lot of work," before turning over and going to sleep.

Sion didn't dream much, and when she did it was usually about numbers. But tonight she dreamt of something that wasn't as boring but a little less pleasant. She was running. From whom, she didn't know. She kept running and running, until she fell into what she thought was quicksand, but it turned out to be something else. It was blood, human blood. She sank deeper and deeper into the pit, drowning in what she usually considered sustenance. After she became fully submerged, she found herself elsewhere. She was now in a place made of darkness. She stumbled through the darkness until she found a door. She was wary of turning the handle, until she heard the sound of something damp falling to the floor. She couldn't see it, but she could hear it. It was making sloshing noises as it moved, and the noises drew closer and closer. Sion decided not to stick around to see the source of the noise. She franticly turned the knob and stepped through the door and slammed it behind her. There were seven locks on the door and she turned the lock on every single one. She looked around to see where the door had leaded her. It was the town they were staying in, Waldenburg, except the buildings and houses looked brand new and there were people in the streets walking, talking, and eating. It was also during the day, and she was standing in the sun without feeling any pain when she would usually be a pile of ash by now. Suddenly, a young girl stood before her, surprising her. She had long blonde hair that went to her ankles and she had big blue eyes. She just stared at Sion with an innocent look in her eyes. Sion said, "What's wrong little girl? You lost?" After a brief pause, the young girl screamed as loud as a banshee. Sion covered her ears and closed her eyes in pain. After a few seconds, the screaming stopped and Sion slowly opened her eyes. She slowly opened her eyes, and saw that all the townspeople were on the ground. Sion looked at the little girl and said, "What just happened?" The girl replied, "I killed them. I killed them all." Sion grabbed the little girl by the shoulders and said, "Why would you do such a thing?!" The girl smiled and replied, "Because humans are so boring. They should just kill themselves because they are boring, but unfortunately I have to do it for them." Sion's eyes went wide with shock. She had heard those words before and she didn't want to hear them again. She backed away, stumbled and fell to the ground. She covered her mouth in horror. She said in a terrified voice, "No! It can't be! You were killed so long ago! How can you still be alive?!" The young girl's form morphed into that of the thing she feared and hated the most. A being that was so wicked and horrid, nothing on this Earth could compare to it. It was the being known as Tatari, the Night of Walachia. A living curse that afflicted the world on the evilest of nights, Walpurgisnacht, the day that witches would gather to bear sacrifices and offerings to their pagan gods at the summit of The Brocken in Germany where ghosts were said to haunt. He had long, blonde hair that hung just above his shoulders. He wore an 18th century-style military uniform, with a cravat hanging from his collar. Over his clothes, he wore a cloak lined red along the edges. The top of the cloak was folded to look like a collar. A golden fastener held it together. Walachia stared at Sion with those crimson eyes, blood oozing from the sockets. He laughed a horrid laugh, a laugh that would send chills down the spine of the bravest of individuals, and said, "Ah, Sion, my beloved great-great-great-great-granddaughter. You're naiveté is so adorable. I just want to bash your head in and scoop out your wonderful brain to give to a rabid monkey to eat!" Sion showed a look of disgust, "You sick bastard!" Once again, Walachia laughed his high-pitched laughter. "Oh Sion, you are so good with compliments! I think you deserve a reward! Look behind you." Sion was afraid to look. Of all the Dead Apostles in existence, Walachia was the most insane; legally and criminally. Whatever was behind her would be something that would only satisfy his sick and twisted pleasure. Nonetheless, she knew that this nightmare would never end if she didn't look. She slowly turned to see what this insane Dead Apostle had given her. It was a stuffed bear. Sion paused for a whole ten seconds before saying, "Huh?" Walachia laughed and said, "Yes! Be afraid! Be very afraid of its cuteness!" Sion turned to face him and said, "Of all the insane things you have done, this is probably the-," before she could finish her sentence, she felt something pounce on her. She saw that it was the teddy bear. It had come to life and was attacking her. It opened its mouth to reveal sharp rows of teeth and was drooling like a rabid dog. Sion grabbed the thing, threw it and shot it in midair. It didn't get back up. She then turned to face Walachia. "Okay, back to the task at hand. Why are you still alive, you bastard?!" Walachia feigned a hurt expression and said, "Now is that anyway to speak to your great-great-great-great grandfather? Children these days have no respect for their elders." Sion's vein started throbbing. "Tell me now, damn it!" The elegantly insane Dead Apostle just laughed. "Ah, that sweet sound of indignation, I love it! Very well, then. The truth is, I am immune to the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception. The Tohno-adopted Nanaya boy only succeeded in destroying one form of me. But I have transcended mere existence. I do not stand within creation. You cannot erase my existance because I do not exist. So you can hunt me for all eternity, and you most certainly are able to thanks to me, but you will never be rid of me. Not until The Sixth has been realized." He then said in a casual tone, "By the way, this is a dream so wake up." Sion just stared at him dumbfounded and said, "Eh?"

A/N: Okay, I had a difficult time figuring out what Tatari would say. I also tried to make him as random as possible, yet still retain some refined behavior. I based his speech off of his victory quotes in Melty Blood Act Cadenza, particularly the one that goes, "Boring. Boring! Humans are so boring! Die! Kill yourselves! Kill yourselves because you are boring!" And about Sion and Satsuki's pillow talk, I'm sorry, but I couldn't resist using that famous line. Also,did anyone notice the parody of a certain Hollywood movie in this chapter?


	8. The Tan Methuselah

Disclaimer: I do not own, Tsukihime nor Trinity Blood. If I did, Trinity Blood wouldn't have a 15-year-old pope nor a female cardinal, and the Tsukihime anime wouldn't have sucked!

* * *

Sion sat up in bed, covered in a fear-induced sweat. She looked around to see where she was. She was relieved to see that

Walachia was nowhere to be found. She looked at Satsuki who was still asleep. She was mumbling something incoherent.

Sion shook Satsuki awake. "Satsuki, wake up." Satsuki shot up and shouted, "Save me, Tom Cruise!" Sion fell out of the bed

and hit her head on the floor because of Satsuki's sudden outburst and the fact that she had called for Tom Cruise for help.

Sion got up and rubbed her head in pain. Satsuki snapped back to reality and noticed that Sion was there when she said

that. She quickly hid her face with the bed sheets. Sion just chuckled and said, "What in the world were you dreaming about?

Wait. Never mind, don't answer that."

After Sion and Satsuki got dressed, Sion contacted the Empress to update her on her situation. She set up the holographic

projector and turned it on. She took a step back and kneeled before it. The Empress's image appeared above it. The Empress

was the first to speak. "Sion? Is everything okay? We heard that the train didn't get to the station on time." Sion lowered her

head, "Yes, Your Highness. We were attacked by the Order of Rozenkreuz and were forced to find refuge in an abandoned

town in the Germanic countryside called Waldenberg. " The Empress asked Sion, "Were there any survivors?" Sion paused

before continuing. "Well, actually there was one survivor. An old friend of mine." The Empress looked at her with complete

surprise. "An old friend? Does that mean this survivor is…?" Sion replied, "Yes, she is a Dead Apostle, like me. Her name is

Satsuki Yumizuka." The Empress was even more dumbfounded. _A Japanese? But they were wiped out during Armageddon! _

thought the Empress. Sion turned toward Satsuki and motioned her to come close enough for the holocamera to capture her

image. Satsuki knelt next to Sion and said in broken English, "Herro saa, itto isua naisu dei." (Hello sir. It is a nice day). After

that statement, Sion head-sighed and soon after, regained her composure and said, "I'm sorry you're highness, she hasn't

learned any other language besides her native one. However we are working on that." The Empress sighed and said, "I see.

Well then, until that time, you must act as her translator. I'll send a transport to pick you up." Sion bowed deeper and said,

"Thank you, You Highness." The Empress chuckled and said, "Hurry home, Sion." The holograph shut off.

Sion and Satsuki gathered their things and headed to the central plaza so they could be in plain sight for the transport. When

they got to the plaza, Sion noticed that it looked eerily familiar. But after a sudden realization, Sion quickly dashed around

quickly to confirm her suspicions. Satsuki called out to her, "Sion! What's wrong?!" Sion ignored her cries, and continued

searching until she found what she was looking for. There it was, on one of the nearby walls, Walachia's mark, a smiley face,

drawn in blood. Sion put her hands to her face in horror, "No. It can't be. It isn't possible!" She fell to her knees and went into

complete shock. "It's not true! It was just a dream! It was just my subconscious taking my thoughts and memories and

twisting them into a horrible vision!" Satsuki caught up with Sion and tried to ask her what was wrong, when she saw it.

Satsuki then knew what it was that was causing Sion such anguish. "Sion, let's go. You don't have to worry about him. He's

dead." Sion cried out, "No he isn't! He came to me in a dream last night. How could I have dreamt about a place that I had

never been to in my life? How could I have known this place had been cursed by HIM?!" Satsuki tried to reassure her,

"Satsuki, even if he is alive, he only appears on one night of the year. He can't hurt you." Sion wouldn't take it, "He visited me

in my dream! He can come and go as he pleases while I sleep! He can cause me no end of horrifying visions! He-!" Sion

suddenly felt a slap against her cheek, dealt by Satsuki. Sion was shocked at Satsuki's sudden assault. "Get a hold of

yourself, Sion! If you don't hang in there… then I... then I…" Satsuki started crying. "Then I won't be able to…" Sion didn't

know what to say. All she could do was wrap her arms around Satsuki. It was then that Sion heard the familiar hum of a Methuselah transport.

Sion got up, as did Satsuki, and waved to the transport.

When they got onboard, Sion observed her surroundings. The crew of the small transport consisted of human navigators

accompanied by a Methuselah envoy. The Methuselah wore a white robe and a hat worn by High Class Methuselah from the

Empire and had a slight tan, which was unusual since Methuselah didn't get much UV. He greeted Sion with a bow and said,

"Greetings Duchess of Alexandria, the Empress has sent me to ensure your safe travel. I am the Duke of Tigris, Süleyman."

Sion was shocked. The Empress had sent the third highest ranking noble in the Empire to fetch Sion? She didn't deserve this

kind of hospitality! Sion returned a greeting of her own. She bowed and said, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Excellency. I

am the Duchess of Alexandria, Sion Eltnam Atlasia." The Duke smiled and said, "Well, then. Let's go someplace more

comfortable to talk." The Duke led her and Satsuki to another section of the transport to talk privately. He sat in a chair at the

edge of the room. Both Sion and Satsuki sat in chairs across from him. Sion faced him directly, while Satsuki looked around at

the various things in the ship. The Duke spoke first. "The Empress has informed me of your situation and it is a grave matter

indeed. This won't go well with the Germanic Royalty, even with the strong presence of Methuselah. The Rozenkreuz Orden is

very unruly indeed. If it weren't for your "unique" condition, then you wouldn't have made it out alive." Sion asked, "You know

about what I am?" The Duke nodded. "Indeed I do. As a high-ranking noble, the Empress trusts me enough with this

sensitive information. I know all too well that if word got out to the Vatican that there was a real vampire living among us

Methuselah, then the rift between our two races would widen even more." Sion grimaced at the thought. Tension left the

Duke's face. "In any case, I know how even a UV ray shield won't protect you against sunlight, so I've made sure that we will

arrive in Byzantium before sunrise." Sion bowed slightly in gratitude. "Thank you, Your Excellency." The Duke smiled. "Well,

shall we have something to eat?" The Duke pressed the call button on the intercom. Soon after, a waitress came out with a

tray of sandwiches and whine for the Duke, and two glasses of blood for Sion and Satsuki. Satsuki was surprised to see the

Duke eating normal food, when she remembered how Sion had mentioned that Methuselah were very capable of consuming

normal food and drink. Sion and Satsuki took the glasses of blood when the waitress offered it to them and sipped as the

Duke ate his sandwiches. The Duke paused. "I heard from the Empress that just like your literary counterparts, you can't

consume regular food, so I didn't bother having any prepared, except for myself. However, I made sure that the blood was

pure virgin." Sion informed the Duke, "I know. I could smell it as it entered the room." The Duke showed an impressed look.

"Your sense of smell is so keen that you can tell if the blood came from a virgin? I must say, Dead Apostle's are quite

impressive. Is it true that you are unaffected by silver as well?" Sion replied, "Yes, that's true. We don't have the same

weaknesses. The only types of weapons that can affect us are conceptual weapons." The Duke raised an eyebrow.

"Conceptual weapons?" Sion clarified for the Duke. "A weapon created through magecraft. It is a weapon that is loaded with

spells that interfere with a Dead Apostle's ability to regenerate." The Duke was intrigued. "So you can also regenerate?" Sion

clarified, "Well, in a sense. While Methuselah regenerate through cell division, Dead Apostles regenerate by turning time

backwards on their bodies to a point before they sustained injury." The Duke nodded his head as if to say, _now I get it_. He

then wiped his mouth with a napkin and got up. "Well, that was quite a fascinating conversation. We had better prepare for

arrival. We'll be in Byzantium within the hour." The Duke called the waitress to clear the table. The waitress came in and

approached the table, and took the Duke's plate as well as Sion and Satsuki's empty glasses.

The Duke went to his quarters while Sion and Satsuki stayed in the room. "So, what did he say?" asked Satsuki. Sion sighed

and translated the Duke's words into Japanese for her. After Satsuki got the gist of it, she said, "So, these Vatican guys are

bad?" Sion shook her head, "Not all of them, just a portion. Some can't get past their prejudice against Methuselah, even

though they aren't even true vampires, while others are willing to get past their differences and strive for peace." Sion

thought of Father Nightroad and the kindness he showed to her, even though she was a true vampire. He was the sort of

person that didn't judge a book by its cover. Just like… just like… "Sion? Is something wrong?" Satsuki had noticed that

something was troubling her. It seems that she hadn't gotten over the time she had almost killed Shiki in her vampiric

bloodlust and the fact that Abel reminded her of him made it hard for her to forget that time. Sion reassured Satsuki. "It's

nothing." A call came in from the bridge on the comms. "Attention. Attention. We are now arriving in Byzantium. For those of

you who want a good view of the city, come to the bridge." Sion got up and told Satsuki, "I think you should come see this."

* * *

A/N: All right! After a lengthy hiatus, The Angel of Death has returned! I recently read the Melty Blood manga, and my portrail of Sion was close, but I found out she had some other abilities which I will try to write into later chapters. I also hope the line spacing will make it easier to read.


	9. Carrier has arrived!

A/N: Alright, the Angel of Death spreads his wings and dips his quill once again! I would like to apologize for the long hiatus. I have been very busy with school and I haven't had time to update. Please forgive me if this was an inconvenience to you all. Also, please feel free to voice your opinions with a review.

Disclaimer: I do not own, Tsukihime nor Trinity Blood. If I did, Trinity Blood wouldn't have a 15-year-old pope nor a female cardinal, and the Tsukihime anime wouldn't have sucked!

* * *

Satsuki marveled at the view of Byzantium. It was beautiful, like Tokyo at night, but a bit smaller.

The entire city was a mesh of medieval European and Islamic architecture, with many houses and spires.

Sion didn't blame Satsuki for being awestruck at the sight of the Empire's capital. Sion pointed at the huge building at the center.

"That's the Imperial Palace where the Queen lives." The palace was unlike any Satsuki had seen in the 21st century.

The structure that was the palace was large enough to rival the great pyramids of Giza and resembled the Taj Mahal.

Sion then gestured to another location of the city and said, "Look there". Satsuki looked where she was pointing and saw a large mansion the size of Buckingham Palace.

Satsuki looked at her and said, "Who lives there?" Sion smirked and said, "I do." Satsuki's expression changed to a look of shock and then fainted soon after.

By the time Satsuki regained consciousness the transport had landed. A limousine was waiting for the two. Sion turned to the Duke and bowed graciously. "I thank you for your hospitality."

The Duke made a slight bow in return. "Think nothing of it. Her Highness ordered it, so I was happy to oblige."

Sion turned, walked towards the limo and got in. As the car pulled away, the Duke waved. However, when the car disappeared from sight, he chuckled to himself as if he was up to something devious.

When the limousine arrived at Sion's estate, Satsuki found herself in awe of the majestic building. Seeing it up close was overwhelming.

Satsuki then followed Sion to the front door, where a pair of maids who were wearing the traditional black dresses with the frilly white aprons greeted them.

The maids bowed and welcomed them. Satsuki was suddenly reminded of the Tohno family maid, Hisui.

As Sion entered, they were greeted by a larger number of maids who were lined up in rows on both sides of the hallway. They all bowed in unison.

One of the maids knelt next to her with her arms outstretched to receive her shawl.

Sion untied the string that held it together, removed it and handed it to the maid. Satsuki wondered how she could live such a luxurious lifestyle.

A maid approached Sion and bowed slightly. "The Bath is ready madam." Sion nodded approvingly and turned to Satsuki. "So, shall we get ourselves cleaned up?"

Satsuki sunk into the bath water and relished the warmth. She started to feel more relaxed as she felt centuries of dirt and grime dissolve from her skin.

Sion sat a few feet from her, showing a look of amusement at Satsuki's enjoyment of the bath. She didn't blame her, though. The bath had a perfect mixture of aromatic and moisturizing herbs and soaps.

The bubbles smelled like perfume that was rubbed into the skin.

It was the closest thing to bathtub heaven, especially for Satsuki who hadn't had a decent shower in decades.

After a relaxing fifteen minutes in the bath Sion got up.

Satsuki decided to follow her, for fear of getting lost in Sion's vast estate in an attempt to navigate the maze of hallways on her own.

The maids approached the both of them holding up a pair of bathrobes for the two of them.

As Sion and Satsuki changed into the robes, another maid approached Sion, bowed and said, "Your Grace, I have a message addressed to you."

As she said that, she handed her a letter. Sion knew that this must be some sort of invitation, as the use of paper was seldom used to convey messages unless it was a formal occasion.

She opened the letter without pause. It was indeed an invitation.

Specifically it was an invitation from the Duchess of Moldova, Mirka Fortuna.

Sion knew her well, as she was a member of the Imperial Secret Council and was one of the few within the Empire who knew her true nature.

However, this was considerably bad timing on the Duchess' part as Satsuki was Asian and would stand out in a room full of European and Middle Eastern Methuselah.

She would have to stay behind. Sion sighed with regret, causing Satsuki some worry.

"What's wrong," she asked.

Sion looked at Satsuki dejectedly and said, "I've been invited to a ball." Satsuki showed a look of confusion.

"Is that bad?" she asked timidly.

Sion looked away and said, "I'm sorry, but I have to go alone. It's too early for you to show your face in public. We have to think of a decent cover before you can accompany me to any social gatherings."

Sion hoped that Satsuki would understand, but she had some issues to consider. "But what if I get hungry?"

Sion reassured Satsuki. "There's some blood bags in my bedroom cooler. Help yourself to it if need be." After that, Sion went to her dressing room to prepare for the ball.

* * *

So how was it? I kinda feel that comparing Sion's estate to Buckingham palace was a little cliche. I am going to release a few more chapters, but I might not upload them today as I still have to proofread or edit them before I upload them.


	10. Put on your sunday finest!

A/N: Okay, another chapter in the same day, which would be sooner than expected. This chapter required the utmost

Disclaimer: I do not own, Tsukihime nor Trinity Blood. If I did, Trinity Blood wouldn't have a 15-year-old pope nor a female cardinal, and the Tsukihime anime wouldn't have sucked!

* * *

Since this was a formal occasion, Sion decided to show up in more colorful attire.

She chose to wear a blue ballroom gown and a matching pair of gloves that almost went to her elbow.

Instead of braiding her hair into a ponytail like she usually did, she decided to put her hair up for the ball (think hair like Saber's from Fate/Stay Night).

After she completed her attire with a necklace of pearls, a maid held up a large mirror to see how she looked.

With some inspection of her clothing, she felt satisfied with her appearance and left through the front door, where her limousine was waiting for her.

The maids saw her off as she stepped into the fancy car. She instructed her driver, an old man by the name of Walter, to take her to the Duchess of Moldova's estate.

As Sion entered the ballroom, her arrival was announced to all the guests.

"Announcing Her Grace, the Duchess of Alexandria, Sion Eltnam Atlasia."

Sion simply walked into the room and joined the other guests as the man continued to announce the arrival of the esteemed invites.

To be honest, Sion didn't enjoy these gatherings as she was not a very sociable person and would much prefer to be alone with her research.

However, her side-job required her to establish connections within the social network of the New Human Empire.

After all the guests had arrived, the hired musicians started playing Mozart's _Twelve German Dances. _

Sion proceeded to meet with the host of the gathering, the Duchess of Moldova.

The Duchess, being a close acquaintance of Sion, skipped the formalities and addressed her directly.

"Sion! How have you been? It's been a while since we last shared a conversation."

Sion bowed her head. "Forgive me, Your Grace. I have been very busy lately."

Mirka simply chuckled. "You don't have to be so formal Sion. After all, we are both members of a Duchy."

She then changed the subject. "I heard about what happened in Austria. It must have been difficult."

"Not at all," Sion replied, "We were able to find the conspirators quickly."

Mirka chuckled again and said, "That's not what I meant." Sion raised an eyebrow in confusion.

The Duchess continued. "I heard about the agents the Vatican sent to work with you. It just so happens that someone else in intelligence has worked with one of the agents as well. Ah, here she comes now."

Sion turned to look in the direction the Duchess indicated. She saw a young woman with long hair that was blonde, with the exception of a red lock of hair that fell upon her forehead, in a red ballroom gown approaching them.

She bowed to the Duchess and addressed her formally. "Your Grace."

The Duchess smiled. "Ah, Asthe! It's so good to see you! We were just talking about you. Sion, this is the Viscountess of Odessa and Duchess of Kiev, Astharoshe Asran. She also worked with Father Nightroad for a brief period."

Sion turned to face Asthe. "I trust he was a just as much of a bother to you as he was to me?"

"Very," the Viscountess replied. Sion smiled. She knew she would get along well with this girl.

The party continued as the two conversed happily, exchanging accounts of their time with Father Nightroad.

She had to censor some of the things she said, as Asthe was a low-ranking noble and was not entitled to know about Sion's "condition".

Suddenly, she felt a looming presence watching her. She turned her head to look around, but there was no one. She dismissed it as a slight case of paranoia, but it still bothered her.

A few hours later, the party ended. The guests left the mansion, each bidding the Duchess farewell as they left. Sion bowed to the Duchess and bid her farewell.

Just as she did so, a young looking boy approached her and the Duchess.

Ion Fortuna stood up straight and said, "I came to bare you a personal farewell, Sion. It was an pleasure having you attend my birthday."

Sion bowed as she replied. "I am honored, your Excellency." Ion and his grandmother chuckled in unison.

After their slight episode of laughter, Ion replied, "Your as formal as ever Sion."

Sion's limousine eased through the streets of Byzantium, which were devoid of traffic.

It was night and most of the non-Methuselah townsfolk who roamed the streets by day had gone to bed.

Sion stared at the city and thought of the past. She remembered the time when this city was called Istanbul and how she had wandered through this city before going to Japan to find Arcueid Brunestud.

It was a somewhat prosperous city compared to other middle-eastern countries. It was funny how a city that was once called Byzantium would be called by that name once again.

Before Sion could lose herself completely in her nostalgia, she felt inertia take hold of her as the driver hit the brakes.

Sion hit her head on the seat and felt a momentary pain from the bruise that formed before she regenerated.

"Walter, what is the meaning of this?!" Sion demanded.

Walter didn't so much as turn his head. He just sat there, not even blinking, as if he were a quadriplegic. Sion knew in an instant what was going on and looked ahead to see the source of this paralysis.

There before her was a young girl who looked around the age of fourteen, dressed in black Victorian clothing with long, flowing black hair and the trademark blood-red eyes of a vampire.

She was the Black Princess of the Dead Apostles, the True Ancestor/Dead Apostle half-breed and older sister of Arcueid, Altrouge Brunestud.

Next to her was a man in a white suit resembling a uniform worn by the aristocracy of pre-industrial Europe with long, blonde hair and another man dressed in a black robe of some kind with short black hair. She knew they were Altrouge's personal bodyguards, Fina-Blood Svelten and Rizo-Waal Strout respectively.

Altrouge stared at Sion as if to say, _could we have a talk?_ Sion knew that denying the Dead Apostle Princess would be unwise, as Altrouge was one of the first ten Dead Apostles on the list of the Twenty-Seven, which meant she was unbelievably powerful.

She stepped out of the limousine and walked to the front of the car to confront Altrouge. Altrouge smiled at Sion's compliance, as she was a girl who was pleased when she got what she wanted. Sion stood before Altrouge uneasily as she spoke. "Sion Eltnam Atlasia. We meet at last."

Sion felt the piercing gaze of the Black Princess penetrate every core of her being. Her anxiety put her into a cold sweat.

Despite the overwhelming sense of doom, Sion was about to ask Altrouge the reason for her visit to Byzantium when the princess put her hands to her hips and said, "Let's skip the formalities, as you already know who I am. I have come to this city to make a proposition to you and your Empress regarding the end of the world. Tell her we will arrive at the Imperial palace at midnight, tomorrow night. It would be best to give her advance warning of our arrival so we can avoid unnecessary bloodshed. We will be waiting until then."

With a "tah-tah", Altrouge and her bodyguards vanished in a shroud of darkness. Sion stood there with her mouth hanging open in disbelief.

* * *

As you can see, things are starting to heat up. I expect this fanfic to be a long one, but updates may be slow. Please bare with me.


	11. Why is a raven like a writing desk?

I would like to apologize for the long hiatus. I have been busy with school and though I had more material already written at the time, I felt that they needed some polishing before I could upload them.

Disclaimer: I do not own, Tsukihime nor Trinity Blood. If I did, Trinity Blood wouldn't have a 15-year-old pope nor a female cardinal, and the Tsukihime anime wouldn't have sucked!

* * *

Sion arrived at her manor a half an hour late and knew that there would be consequences for her tardiness.

She braced herself as she stepped through the front door, and as expected, Satsuki came flying through the air to embrace Sion, knocking her over.

"Sion!" cried a teary-eyed Satsuki. Sion patted her on the head in consolation.

Satsuki had no friends other than Sion and if anything happened to her, she would have no one left to comfort her.

Sion was glad to have such a caring friend. Sunrise was drawing near, so they both went to their respective bedrooms.

The maids drew the curtains so that no sunlight could get through. As the sun rose to shine it's light on Byzantium, Sion and Satsuki drifted into the sleep of the undead.

Sion found herself in a dark room once again. Ambling through the darkness, she found a solitary rectangular table with elegant china with flower patterns illuminated by an unknown light source.

There were four seats, one on each side of the table. Sion sat down in one of the chairs and the scenery changed in an instant.

The world around her became a landscape filled with dying flowers and a cloudy sky. Some silly tune sounding as if played by a circus calliope filled the area, despite the absence of anything that could be even remotely considered an instrument or audio device.

On the opposite side of the table was a man wearing a top hat and a card perched on the brim on which was written a fraction with an incalculable value, one divided by zero. The man smiled and laughed. "Hello, my dear Alice! I am so glad you could make it to my tea party!"

Sion sighed. "Cut the act, Walachia I know it's you." The man denied Sion's accusation. "Who is this Walachia you speak of? Is he a duck and a coat-hanger?"

Sion did not buy it. "Oh, come now. A mad tea party? That is something only you could come up with. Besides, it's an insult to the memory of the former Dead Apostle No. 22. After all, Mad Tea Party was her reality marble."

With an annoyed look on his face the mad hatter morphed into the familiar form of Walachia.

"Hum, your no fun anymore. And for your information, Alice Argenta Wallstonecraft became what she was thanks to her dedication to my work! That little upstart got what was coming to her when the Church finally took her head!" Wanting to brush aside the issue of the long-dead draculina, Sion changed the subject.

"Altrouge Brunestud approached me today." As the name came out, Walachia leaned forward, becoming more interested.

"Really? Oh, do tell! It has been such a long time since I saw Her Majesty. I haven't seen her since I made that pact so many centuries ago. Oh, nostalgia!"

Sion continued, "She said she had something to tell me and the Empress. Something concerning the end of the world."

Walachia thought for a moment until he suddenly smiled before breaking into laughter rife with insanity. "Ohohohoho, so that day has come at last! That is the only reason _she_ would be in such dire need of assistance!"

Sion demanded an answer from the chaotic vampire. "What do you know?! Tell me!"

Walachia held up a finger and swung it to and fro in a tsk-tsk motion. "Ah, ah, ah. We wouldn't want to spoil the fun. Besides you will find out soon enough. Now it's time for you to wake up. Cock-a-doodle-dooooooooo!" and with that, the dream world went spiraling down a crapper.

"Walachia!" Sion yelled as she shot up from her bed. It was just after sunset, the vampire dawn. Sion knew she had to move quickly. She wrung the bell and asked the maids to bring her a change of clothes.

After she got dressed, Sion woke Satsuki. Satsuki woke up in a groggy state and rose up from her sleep with her hair a mess. She rubbed the sleep sand from her eyes and said, "Aw, I was having the nicest dream."

Sion didn't show any curiosity as to what the dream was about. They had no time to discuss it. "Get dressed, we have to go see the Empress."

Sion snapped her fingers and a group of maids carrying a change of clothes for Satsuki gathered and descended upon her. Satsuki cried out as the maid team stripped and redressed her.

"Hey, stop it! I can change by myself! Sion I'm going to get you for this!" Satsuki's cries fell upon deaf ears as Sion simply waltzed out of the room.

After some struggle, Satsuki was finally dressed in her new wardrobe. It was simple attire worn by indentured servants of Methuselah aristocracy (basically what Abel and Esther wore when they went to Byzantium with Ion.

Futuristic clothing is a nightmare to describe so just go with it). Sion had Walter bring the car around and the two went on their way to the Imperial Palace.

Sion approached the gate. The guards let her through as she had called the Empress ahead of time and so she was expected.

Through the numerous hallways they walked until they reached the Imperial throne room. The room was almost completely empty save for the enclosed bubble that was the Imperial throne.

Seth Nightroad opened the shield and greeted Sion as she stepped out.

"Hello, Sion. It's nice to see you tonight. I'm assuming this is Satsuki?" Satsuki was surprised to see such a young looking girl as the leader of a powerful nation.

"Your Highness, I have some troubling news. I had an encounter with Altrouge Brunestud last night."

Seth's face became serious. "The Princess of the Dead Apostles." Sion nodded. "They will be arriving within the hour. It would be wise not to deny her an audience. She is very powerful on her own and her bodyguards will add to that monstrous power. Their survival of the Armageddon is a testament to that fact."

The Empress asked, "What are her intentions?"

Sion put a hand to her forehead in deep contemplation. "She wants to discuss something of world ending consequences. As to what that means specifically, I have yet to determine."

Seth's expression changed to a look of shock. It was then that a mass of blackness flew through the window and set itself on the floor. Sion looked to face the cloak of darkness. "They're here."

The shadowy cloak morphed to form the figures of three people before dissipating to reveal the aforementioned Dead Apostle Princess and her attendants.

Altrouge stepped forward to approach the Empress. With each step, Seth Nightroad felt a chill that she hadn't felt since the day her brother Cain Nightroad went mad.

The Crusnik was powerful, but Altrouge's aura was oozing with destructive potential.

The Black Vampire Princess stopped seven feet from the three girls before making a curtsy towards the Empress.

"Well, hello. You must be the Empress Augusta Vradica. I am Altrouge Brunestud, princess of the Dead Apostles. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Altrouge sat down opposite of Seth in the Imperial Palace courtyard.

Altrouge took a sip of the tea and showed delight in its flavor. "This tea is wonderful. Is it Ceylon?"

The Empress nodded. Altrouge continued to sip her tea. "I was wondering what the reason for your visit was?"

The young-looking draculina put down her cup of tea ever so gently. "Well, I'll be frank. I am sure that Sion has told you all about the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, correct?"

Seth nodded. "Good, then you will understand how dire the news I have is."

Altrouge paused. "The Dark Six… is about to reawaken."

With those words, the room suddenly became silent. "You mean, the Dead Apostle that is still in the process of regenerating?"

Altrouge nodded. "Yes, and as you may or may not know, the Dark Six will unite all Dead Apostles under its rule once its regeneration is complete. When that happens, the combined forces of all the Twenty-Seven will set out for world conquest."

Sion and Seth both gulped. Altrouge continued, "The fact of the matter is that the Dark Six is reawakening ahead of schedule. Its regeneration is being expedited by a group known as the-."

"The Rosenkreuz Orden," interrupted Sion. Altrouge looked at Sion with a look of minor annoyance.

"Yes, I see you know of them. They are being assisted by my nemesis, Trhvmn Ortenrosse. That fool has no idea what he is doing. He's just a grumpy old man that thinks he can control the Dark Six just because he holds seniority over the rest of the Twenty-Seven. We have to stop him before it's too late."

Seth showed a look of confusion, "But why do you need our assistance? Certainly you can take care of this Ortenrosse with the amount of power you have."

Altrouge sighed, "Yes, I could but it's not that simple. We don't know where Ortenrosse is because he is where the Dark Six's body is recuperating, and we don't know where that is either. However, according to certain historical texts we were able to obtain, the Dark Six can be found… by an Atlasian."

Altrouge then turned to face Sion. She felt the weight of her stare strain her body.

It was true. The name Atlasia was a title given to the best and brightest of the Atlas Academy, and so she would be the most capable in finding whatever clues as to the whereabouts of the Dark Six.

Just when Sion thought she could get a break, she had another quest to undertake.

* * *

As you may have deduced, this story will feature even more of the 27 Dead Apostle Ancestors. Keep on reading to find out which ones.


	12. Roman Holiday

A/N: I'm sorry for the long wait. I have been busy with school and I get easily side-tracked. Here is the 12th chapter. I have some great ideas in store for all who have read this far so please be patient with me.

Disclaimer: I do not own, Tsukihime nor Trinity Blood. If I did, Trinity Blood wouldn't have a 15-year-old pope nor a female cardinal, and the Tsukihime anime wouldn't have sucked!

* * *

Sion paced back and forth across the floor of her personal study back at her estate.

She had piles of books she had collected over the last three hundred years on all manner of subjects, both on modern science and her original profession as a magus.

She had searched all over the miniature library that was her study looking for any reference she could find on the Dark Six.

However, she could not gather enough information.

After Altrouge had stated her plight to the Empress and Sion, she took her leave after informing them of their temporary residence within the city, which was a very fancy hotel, the Altin Hali (Golden Carpet in Turkish).

Satsuki walked into the room.

Seeing Sion with such a look of distress was making her uneasy.

"What's wrong, Sion?" she asked.

Sion turned her head from the spot on the floor she had been staring at to face Satsuki, "Oh, I didn't notice you coming in," Sion said before dusting off some books on medieval folklore.

"I can't seem to find enough information on the Dark Six. This archive is too insufficient."

Satsuki looked around the room dejectedly.

She knew nothing about the Dark Six or the other Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, even though she was a Dead Apostle herself.

As Satsuki drifted into deep thought, she lost track of her surroundings and tripped on a pile of books.

As she fell over with a slight yelp, she knocked over a holobook that was resting on the table.

The book opened by itself as it fell to the ground and displayed a random entry.

Sion bowed her head, pressed two fingers against the bridge of her nose and sighed.

She looked up to where Satsuki had fallen.

The girl slowly got up with a slight look of pain from her fall.

Sion then noticed the image being displayed by the open holobook.

The book was a copy of the encyclopedia on the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors that Sion had written for the Empress, and it was displaying an image of the Twentieth of the Twenty-Seven, Merem Solomon.

After a brief take, Sion snapped her fingers in realization. "That's it!"

Upon Sion's revelation, she quickly contacted the Empress who in turn contacted Altrouge to request a meeting.

Sion arrived at the palace in less than a half an hour.

After she made her way to the center of the throne room, she bowed before the Empress and said, "Your Highness, I have made a breakthrough in my search."

"You've found the location of the Dark Six?" asked the Empress.

Sion lowered her head, "Unfortunately that is not the case. However, I know of someone who might be able to help. However, it may be difficult to meet with him."

The Empress tilted her head quizzically. "Who is this person?"

Sion raised her head. "Dead Apostle No. 20, Merem Solomon. He is most likely still living at the Vatican."

Seth Nightroad's jaw dropped. Difficult was an understatement.

It was next to impossible to send Sion to the heart of Vatican territory with the political situation as sensitive as it was now.

A train would be subject to customs and a ship was out of the question as a Methuselah vessel flying over Rome might be considered an act of war.

Altrouge deduced the cause for alarm and stepped forward with a solution.

"I may be able to provide an alternative means of getting to Rome."

The Empress turned towards the Dead Apostle princess.

"What, may I ask, might that be?"

Altrouge motioned towards her bodyguard, Fina-Blood Svelten, with her head.

"Svelten is the captain of a ghost ship. It is virtually undetectable by conventional means, and can arrive at any destination in a single day."

Svelten put an arm across his abdomen and bowed before the Empress as his name was mentioned.

"He can get us to Rome without any trouble."

The Empress sighed with relief.

"In that case, I will contact the director of AX and inform her of the situation. How soon can you leave?"

Altrouge smiled and said, "Right now, if you would like."

With those words, a sailing ship floating on a cloud of mist came hovering next to the balcony.

Sion had already packed the items she would need in advance.

After gathering her single item of luggage, she approached the ghost ship from the balcony of her estate and made her way up the ramp onto the deck, where she was met by Altrouge and her bodyguards, along with her personal pet the White Beast of Gaia, Primate Murder.

The white dog, which was bigger than a St. Bernard and resembled a greyhound with six furry tails like a fox's tail, came up to Sion and started sniffing her.

Sion felt uneasy, as this beast was so powerful that it needed seven counter guardians to restrain it.

Altrouge had made it her pet and the beast had copied its master's habit of drinking blood.

Because of that, it took the place of the first of the Twenty Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors.

The fact that Altrouge had tamed the beast meant that she had monstrous power.

Altrouge stomped her foot.

"Come, Primate Murder."

The dog whimpered as it retreated back to Altrouge's side.

"Sorry about that. He tends to get excited when we have guests."

Sion breathed a sigh of relief as the dog left her personal space.

Sion spent the journey to Rome reading up on what she had on Merem Solomon.

The Dead Apostle was originally a boy from a village in the Middle East.

He had a profound connection with nature, which gave him the rare ability to communicate with animals as well as materialize the wishes of others.

The people of the village were cruel to him in that they cut off his arms and legs to keep him from escaping, and at the same time worshiped him as a god.

One day, the progenitor of the True Ancestors, Crimson Moon Brunestud, came to the village and noticed the young boy.

Whether it was out of pity or simply a whim, no one is sure, but the fact of the matter was that Crimson Moon decided to help Merem.

He proposed a morbid game to the villagers in that they would use Merem's powers to materialize beasts and have them try to defeat Crimson Moon.

If none of these beasts could best him by daybreak, he would claim the lives of all the villagers.

As the game went on till sunrise, and none of the beasts had defeated Crimson Moon, he proceeded to slaughter them all.

However, it was too late for Merem, as the ordeal had weakened him too much and he died.

But Crimson Moon revived him as a Dead Apostle and then used Merem's power to materialize four demon beasts that could transform into arms and legs that he could control as prosthesis.

Ever since, Merem has felt a sense of gratitude towards Crimson Moon.

Over the years, Merem Solomon would develop a love for ancient artifacts, and ended up joining the Church's Burial Agency as an Executioner so he could have access to their ancient relics, despite being one of the Dead Apostles that they were tasked with exterminating.

As Sion was reading this, the ship's bell rang calling the passengers to attention.

Sion, along with Altrouge, Rizo-Waal Strout and Primate Murder gathered on deck. Fina-Blood Svelten stood by the rudder wheel, which was being guided by an invisible force. "We have arrived," said Svelten, not averting his gaze.

Sion and the others looked off in the distance to see the city of Rome, home of the Vatican and the birthplace of Catholicism.

Sion had never been to this city personally, but she had seen photographs of it in various media.

It had changed little in the time since the Armageddon.

However, St. Peter's Square itself had gone through some major remodeling.

It still retained the elliptical colonnades that surrounded the Piazza.

A gigantic crucifix that was suspended above the Piazza by an antigravity device had taken the place of the obelisk from the Circus of Nero.

St. Peter's Basilica had been altered the most.

The Basilica no longer had a dome at the center of the building and instead the entire building had an arch shape.

It was also much larger in comparison, at least twice as high.

While Sion was taking in the sight of this post-Armageddon Rome, Svelten lowered the ghost ship to the ground on the outskirts of the city.

Sion went back to her cabin to change.

When the ship had landed, he had it extend the ramp to the ground so that its passenger could disembark.

Sion left the ship dressed in casual attire consisting of a jeans-jacket, a plain T-shirt and a pair of jeans. She completed the outfit by placing a flat-cap on her head.

After looking at herself in a small mirror, she wondered who chose this disguise. Meanwhile, back in Byzantium a young, Japanese vampire girl sneezed.

After Sion set foot on the ground, she proceeded on to Rome while the rest of the party remained on the ship.

"We'll stay behind and watch from afar," said Altrouge, and the ship began it's ascent.

When she passed within the outer region of the city, she flagged down a cab, which took her to within a block of the Piazza of St. Peter's Square.

Father Nightroad was there to meet her. He was looking around nervously like he was about to be shot at any moment.

Sion sighed. "You again?"

The silver-haired priest jumped at the sound of her voice and then turned to face her.

"Ah, hello again Sion." But the moment he noticed Sion in her disguise, Abel started laughing.

This display of amusement set her off, which resulted in her planting the tip of her foot in Father Nightroad's abdomen.

Abel fell over as he clutched his solar plexus in pain. "Okay, I'm sorry," Abel apologized in a raspy voice. Sion sighed.

After explaining the situation to Abel, the two proceeded to the front gate at St. Peter's Basilica.

A member of the Swiss Guard, a private military group who were in charge of security and were the personal bodyguards of the Pope, made sure to confirm Father Nightroad's identity.

"ID please," the guard said.

Father Nightroad smiled.

"No problem, here it-."

Abel stopped in mid-sentence as he rummaged through his pockets for his ID.

"Wait, I know it's in here somewhere," he said as he emptied his pockets, which held random items such as candy and rubber bands, but mostly candy.

Sion sighed heavily and put a palm to her face.

When it seemed like they were never going to get in, Sion decided to step in.

She walked up to the Swiss Guard and stared him right in the eye and let her Mystic Eyes of Enchantment take hold of him.

After his will had been compromised, she gave him a single order.

"Let us pass."

The guard stepped to the side and stood up straight, allowing them passage.

As the two of them made their way past the gate, Abel asked, "So where is this Merem Solomon? I've never seen anyone like that here at the Vatican."

"He usually keeps himself hidden. However, he makes use of a shape-shifting familiar that can take on any human-sized form to run his errands," replied Sion.

"How will we find him if his familiar can change its appearance?"

Sion put a hand to her chin as she thought about it.

"Well, it's said that the intense gaze of a high-class exorcist can force his familiar to revert to its original form."

Abel shrugged, "But we don't have anyone like that in AX, except maybe…"

Sion stared at Abel inquisitively.

"Do you have someone in mind?"

Abel smiled, "Yes, though I'm not sure if you could call him an exorcist, he has the most amount of faith and piety of anyone I know in the Order."

* * *

Heh, I wonder who that might be? Wait for the next chapter to find out!


	13. Of Mice and Priests

Hello! Long time no see! I'm sorry for the late update. I've been very busy with school and studying for my certification exams and my own original novels and short storys. That and I haven't been in the mood for vampires as of late. On top of that, I have taken an advanced class in literary fiction writing, so expect the quality of my prose to improve somewhat in the future. On that note, on with the chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own, Tsukihime nor Trinity Blood. If I did, Trinity Blood wouldn't have a 15-year-old pope nor a female cardinal, and the Tsukihime anime wouldn't have sucked!

* * *

It was a late night at the main office of Arcanum Cella ex Dono Dei, otherwise known as AX. Its director, Cardinal Caterina Sforza, was busy signing an endless pile of documents. She felt the fatigue in her eyes and temporarily removed the monocle she was wearing over her right eye to rub her aching eyelids before replacing it. It was at that moment when she heard a knock on the door to her office.

"Come in," she replied.

The door creaked open and a head popped out from around the edge of it. The head belonged to Father Nightroad.

"Um, I'm back."

Caterina sighed.

"I do hope you didn't cause too much of a scene getting her in here."

Abel stepped into the office all the way, and held up his hands apprehensively.

"No, not at all. Well, we did have a little issue with the Swiss Guard at the front gate, but we managed in the end."

Caterina eyed Abel suspiciously before sighing again.

"Fine, whatever. Just send her in."

Abel turned towards the open door.

"Okay, you can come in now." With those words, Sion stepped into the Cardinal's office. Caterina smiled slightly to greet her guest.

"Ah, you must be the Duchess of Alexandria. It's a pleasure to finally meet you face to face."

Sion took a slight bow before addressing the Cardinal.

"It is an honor to be in your presence, Your Grace."

Caterina chuckled.

"Indeed, the Empress mentioned your tendency to be formal, though in those clothes one would never suspect you to be a noble of the New Human Empire."

Sion's face went slightly red.

"I-It was necessary to blend in with the local populace," she replied nervously.

Caterina brushed the issue aside.

"Well, there must be a reason why you two came to my office. Let's hear it."

Abel fumbled his hands.

"Ah, well we were hoping that we could employ the services of Father Havel. Is he available?"

Caterina pressed a button on the intercom mounted on her desk. A holographic image of a nun clad in a white habit appeared.

"Sister Kate, please call Father Havel in."

The hologram bowed her head slightly.

"Yes, Your Grace," replied Sister Kate before the hologram disappeared.

A few minutes later, there was another knock on the door.

"Come in," replied Caterina.

When the door opened, a priest with long flowing hair and a goatee stepped into the office. The moment he had stepped into the room, Sion knew that Abel wasn't kidding about this priest's purity. She could almost feel a sense of righteousness from Father Havel emanating from him. It felt almost overwhelming to Sion due to her corrupt nature as a Dead Apostle. Father Vaclav Havel took a slight bow.

"You requested my presence, Your Grace?" Caterina nodded.

"Yes, I need you to assist Father Nightroad and his 'associate' in their current assignment."

Father Havel nodded in acknowledgment.

"As you wish, Your Grace."

The three of them made their way across the courtyard to the Apostolic library and museums, as these locations would be most suitable to the antiquity-loving Dead Apostle. Father Havel looked towards Abel.

"So, what is it that you need me to do?"

Abel looked at him nervously as he tried to think of a way to explain it.

"Well, basically, um… well… we need you to, um… stare… at people."

Father Havel's expression changed to one of confusion.

"That's all that you need me to do? That sounds like a task anyone is qualified for. Why would you need my help for that?"

Abel started to get even more apprehensive.

"Well, let's just say that you have a special quality that we need for this task."

Father Havel put a hand to his chin as he thought about it.

"Hmm, well I guess the Lord must have given me some special gift that even I don't know about."

Abel laughed nervously.

"Uh, yeah. You could say that."

When Sion and the two priests arrived at the library, Abel turned to Father Havel.

"Alright, Father Havel. Time to start staring."

The priest nodded. One by one, Father Havel started staring at every person in the room as Sion observed every individual he stared at for a reaction. It was then that Father Havel's gaze fell upon an elderly looking priest with glasses. After a few seconds of being subjected to Father Havel's stare, the priest started to show signs of stress, then turned to leave the library.

"That's the one," said Sion as she got up to follow the retreating priest.

Abel got up.

"Ah! Uh, thank you for your help Father Havel. We'll take it from here."

Father Havel smiled.

"I'm glad to be of service. I'll just report back to Lady Caterina."

Sion followed the elderly priest as he turned a corner to enter a storage room for books to be added to the library's collection. When Sion entered, she saw the priest's form fade away to reveal a mouse with a crown and cape scurrying away to a hole in the wall. Sion quickly produced a plastic container with air holes and placed it on top of the mouse before it could reach the hole, trapping it. Sion smiled as she observed her quarry.

"I've got you now, King of Rats."

The mouse sighed as it realized it was trapped like, well, a rat. Father Nightroad found Sion in the storage room a moment later.

"Ah, Sion! Have you captured it?"

Sion got up.

"Father Nightroad, I would like to introduce you to Merem Solomon's familiar, the King of Rats."

Abel looked at the mouse clad in royal attire in disbelief. It looked like something out of a novel by Lewis Carol. Sion bent down to look the mouse in the face.

"Take us to your master," Sion demanded.

The mouse stood up defiantly.

"Never!" he squeaked.

As soon as the mouse spoke, Abel showed a look of shock.

"I-It talks!" he cried.

Sion leaned her head closer to the container.

"We have pizza," Sion stated enticingly.

The mouse's ears perked up at the mention of the Italian dish.

"Did you say pizza?"

Sion and Abel followed the King of Rats as it scurried across the floor of the library. The mouse led them to a bookcase that was propped against a wall. It then leapt up to the second shelf from the top, pointed to a book on the shelf.

"Pull on this one," the mouse urged.

Sion read the book's binding. It read _King Solomon's Mines by Sir H. Rider Haggard_. Sion stared at the book in disbelief.

_This is just stupid_, she thought.

Despite the unoriginality of the hidden switch on the bookcase, Sion pulled it anyway, prompting the bookcase to swing inward revealing a hidden passageway. Sion turned her head to address Abel.

"Well, shall we proceed?"

The two of them followed the mouse through the corridors that led to Merem's abode. It was dark and damp and the sound of dripping water echoed throughout the hallways. Abel sneezed as the dampness of the passageway started to affect his sinuses. Sion ignored the priest's signs of discomfort as the mouse led them to a door with ornate patterns and a doorknob made of gold. The King of Rats scurried into a hole next to the door, and a few moments later, the door opened by itself.

"Won't you come in?" said a voice from within the room.

Sion and Abel stepped through the doorway into a large room the size of a warehouse that looked like a library that rivaled the Library of Congress with bookcases lining the twenty-foot walls that reached up to the ceiling. There were ancient relics from every era kept in display cases all over the room. After both of them had stepped through the door, it closed behind them by itself. Sion scanned her surroundings for the source of the voice and then noticed Merem Solomon himself sitting with a book in his right hand on a library ladder that was propped against a bookcase. He looked like a boy of fourteen years old with long, straight black hair that went just past his chin. He wore a white robe with a golden stripe going down the center from the colar to the hem and a pair of black pants with matching shoes. His right hand had a ring on each finger and a red symbol that resembled an eye with lashes on the backhand. His left sleeve was empty. Empty, that is, until the King of Rats leapt up the ladder to where Merem was sitting. The boy vampire put the book down, picked up the mouse and held him in his palm. The mouse transformed into an arm, which Merem inserted into his empty sleeve until it connected with his shoulder. While Sion viewed these events with fascination, Abel looked on in horror. This was probably the oddest and most unnatural thing the nine hundred year old Crusnik had seen in his life. Merem leapt off the ladder and landed on his feet. He then eyed them with a slight smile before taking a bow.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Merem Solomon, Dead Apostle No. 20 of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, at your service."

* * *

A/N: Ah, that's a relief. I know some of you out there who have kept up with the Trinity Blood novels might complain about Havel's OOC portrayal, but I'm just going by the anime continuity. I felt that getting someone outside of AX involved would open up a can of worms, as I doubt anyone from any other order would be able to keep their mouth shut when confronted by Cardinal Francesco di Medici's Inquisitors and I really didn't want to do the old incarceration-jailbreak/political drama runaround. Anyway, just try to enjoy this new chapter as best you can. Others will be uploaded as soon as I finish proofreading them.


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